Faith In Family
by Attic-Bat
Summary: Movieverse. Evil lurks in the darkest of places, waiting...for revenge. Can the Tracy's escape? Things get darker and danger lurks around every corner as the family search for Alan. But what will they find? Please review CHAPTER 16 NOW UP!
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Thunderbirds in any way I'm just a spectator.

FAITH IN FAMILY 

**CHAPTER ONE – Storm in Paradise**

To Alan Tracy it was a day like any other that summer. The sun was shining; the days were warm and the sunsets spectacular. But to Alan this meant little and like so many times that summer he sat outside by the pool waiting for the next emergency call.

Life had been slow for International Rescue over the past month and the only call outs they did receive were for evacuations as the current tornado took hold or for forest fires. But to International Rescue these were annual call outs.

Alan sighed deeply. He was bored of the laid-back paradise life on the Island. He longed to leave and head to the mainland for some fun. Maybe a theme park or two, or a trip to the Nascar races, or go to a rock concert (which he knew his dad wouldn't allow unsupervised). At the current time he was the only person on the whole Island who could find nothing to do!

Although he was now an official member of International Rescue he had not had the chance to go on a mission since then. He was either at school or buried under a mountain of homework as he was fast approaching the end of his mandatory schooling.

A ringing sound filtered out from the depths of the house. "Mmm, dinnertime" Alan said to himself.

Getting up from ground he plodded into the air-conditioned house and down to the kitchen. On his way he met up with TinTin and Fermat who had made their way up from the Thunderbird silos deep below the house. "Howdy stranger, thought you'd forgotten about us", TinTin teased as she fell instep with Alan.

They were currently assisting Brains with his latest bizarre invention.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" Alan smiled at Tin Tin's light-hearted way of saying 'where the hell have you been all day'. She always had the ability to make him smile even when he was in the darkest of moods.

"Well, dad's managed to fix the overload problem, but were having trouble installing the auto-flight software into Thunderbird Two's computer" Fermat answered. "Yeah it keeps crashing the system every time we attempt it" Tin Tin continued as they entered the kitchen.

The rest of the Island's inhabitants were already sat at the table eagerly helping themselves to hamburgers, baked potatoes and salad. Alan took a seat between Fermat and Gordon as he grabbed a burger from the quickly emptying plateful.

Scott and Virgil were talking animatedly amongst themselves and Gordon appeared to be in a surprisingly deep debate with Brains and his father. Surprising for Gordon.

Gordon turned round almost surprised to see Alan already sat next to him, being so engrossed in his conversation he hadn't noticed. "Hey squirt. Where have you been hiding all day I've been looking for you" Alan looked wearily at his brother.

Usually when Gordon wanted to talk to him it was to discuss his latest prank and to decide on a victim. Leaning over he whispered to Alan, "I've got something I need your help with after dinner".

Glancing up at Scott and Virgil on the other side of the table he realized they were both watching him with murderous expressions on their faces. Smiling innocently Gordon quickly muttered an 'I'll tell you later' and turned his attention back to his plate.

Frowning, Alan went back to his own food. He was not in the mood for one of Gordon's pranks or for any of the upheaval they always caused on the Island afterwards. Not for the first time that summer he felt trapped and alone in the beautiful paradise that was Tracy Island.

"So Brains, how are the upgrades to Thunderbird Two going?" Virgil asked after a while. Before Brains had a chance to finish chewing his son answered for him, "we're having trouble installing the software. It could be a f-f-fau-f- glitch in the program but we're not sure" Fermat finished.

At this point Jeff Tracy had finished his own conversation and was listening to Fermat's answer. "Can you fix the problem Brains?" he asked while taking his plate to the dishwasher.

"Ah, we-w-w-well Mr. Tracy I'll have to open up the wh-wh-whol entire program to discern what the problem is. I believe it is s-solv-so-s-so-s fixable but it may take some time" Brains answered. He didn't like giving his employer bad news and the auto-flight program was beginning to be a common piece of bad news he had to give. The program was supposed to enable someone to fly Thunderbird Two without actually being on the plane itself. After the incident with the Hood it was a form of remote control Mr. Tracy had asked Brains to come up with to prevent the vehicles becoming unexpectedly parted from their pilots….or stolen.

"Well keep trying Brains. I want the program installed in all the Thunderbirds once you've worked out the bugs understood?" Jeff answered returning to the table.

Brains nodded, quickly finished up and said his good evenings to the rest of the house's inhabitants, as he probably would not be seeing them again until the following morning.

"Dad can I help?" Fermat asked as he made to follow his dad out the door.

"Sure son but when it r-re-r-rea-r hits nine its off to bed", Brains answered as they left.

"Alan do you wanna go and help them?" Tin Tin asked watching Alan intently. Alan continued to stare at his plate as he poked his salad with a fork.

"Alan?"

She rolled her eyes and adopted a whimsical tone, "Aaaalan".

By this time Scott and Virgil had stopped talking and Gordon and Jeff were both looking at him with raised eyebrows seemingly waiting for his brain processes to catch up with him.

TinTin was getting rather annoyed at his lack of attention and not being able to resist the temptation any longer Gordon leaned over and jabbed a finger in the side of Alan's stomach. Alan yelped, dropping his fork and falling out of his chair with a bewildered look on his face. He had been so deep in thought he hadn't even realized they were all looking at him let alone TinTin trying to talk to him. Gordon keeled over in hysterical laughter at Alan's dramatic reaction, resting his head in his hands on the table. Scott and Virgil smirked to themselves trying desperately not to laugh while Jeff gave Gordon a glare that meant he was not impressed.

"Dammit Gordon what did you do that for!" Alan yelled angrily from under the table. He heaved himself up off the floor back on to his chair.

"Lighten up kiddo he only did it because you weren't listening to TinTin", Scott said still smiling.

"I WAS listening!" Alan argued glaring at Scott who held up his hands in defense.

"No you weren't you were completely zoned out," Virgil replied coolly.

"I was not! It was….I was just preoccupied!" Alan was starting to feel embarrassed that he had been caught unawares.

"Alright then squirt spill it" Gordon demanded. Alan glared at him silently.

"Alan?"

Alan looked back at TinTin at the sound of his name. "Do you want to go and help Brains and Fermat with the upgrades?"

"Maybe later TinTin. I'll see you later"; he got up and walked out of the living area. TinTin's disappointment was evident but she merely smiled trying to hide it as she left following in Alan's wake.

"What's with him?" Virgil asked.

"Not like Alan to disappoint TinTin," Scott continued.

"Guys it's just Alan doing the moody teenager thing, you remember what that's like" Gordon concluded feeling that this answered their questions.

"That's enough boys. He probably just needs some space" Jeff looked at his sons.

"Fine", Gordon finished exasperatedly knowing that it meant he would have less time to collaborate with his partner in practical jokes.

Jeff looked in the direction his son had left, deep in thought, trying to discern what was on his youngest's mind.

TB_C_

_I had to remove this story to make some changes. _

_Sorry I've moved onto a different story without finishing my other one but I've hit a mental block on it. But I promise I will finish it._

_Reviews are most welcome._


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I don't Thunderbirds in any way.

_I'm afraid you are going to have to bear with me with this story. I'm currently doing my final year at university so story writing has been put on the back burner. _

_Please be patient with me and enjoy the next chapter. _

CHAPTER TWO – Father and Son 

Jeff sat at his desk trying to finish off the latest batch of paperwork from Tracy Inc. Being in International Rescue made finding time to run his own company hard and on top of that he had to raise five sons, so when he set up International Rescue he created a team of people to run the company for him and they would send documents to him to go through. The benefit was that Tracy Inc. provided an excellent cover to purchase equipment and spare parts for the Thunderbirds and the Island base, because Tracy Inc. dealt with design and manufacturing in advanced electronics and equipment engineering so anyone looking into the company would be none the wiser.

Glancing at his watch he realized he had been staring at the same-spread sheet for twenty minutes. Running his hands over his face his eyes landed on the family photos sat on the desk and he smiled. It was at times like this he truly missed his wife Lucille the most. She was always supportive and would often help with the running of the company.

Jeff had not been able to stop thinking about Alan. He remembered when Fermat, TinTin and Alan had heroically saved the day when the Hood had almost succeeded in his plan to use the Thunderbirds to rob banks all over the world. He had felt so proud of him when Alan had saved the Hood's life even though he had tried to take his family away from him. Alan came through for them all that day and that was the day Jeff knew his son had proven himself to be a true Thunderbird.

But ever since then Jeff had the feeling that something was troubling him. Alan was still doing his usual average at school, yet he was quieter and more subdued than normal. Getting up and stretching, he decided that he needed to talk to Alan about it. He made his way out of his office and into the main house.

Alan was in his room. He lay on his bed gazing up at the ceiling; he was still moody over what had happened at dinner as the setting sun's rays filtered in through his window casting shadows along the walls. Why did they still treat him like a child at times!

He felt lost. No matter how hard he tried he could not forget what had happened during the spring break or the things the Hood had said about his father. Alan knew that the Hood had been trying to unsettle his trust in his father and he also remembered what his father had admitted to him in Thunderbird one that no matter how hard you try you just can't save everyone. But ever since the one-on-one confrontation Alan had had with the Hood he could not shake the feeling of unease and confusion that he constantly felt. He closed his eyes, lost in his own troubled thoughts and the mellowing sounds of the Pacific Ocean coming in through his open balcony doors.

A knock came from the door. Opening his eyes he groaned inwardly, he was not in the mood to talk to anyone. "Door's open", he found himself saying automatically. He was slightly surprised to see his father open the door and enter the room.

"Dad, what's up?" Alan asked sitting up. Jeff took a seat in a chair next to the bed.

"Nothing, I just wanted to see how you are. You left the kitchen in such a hurry I didn't have time to ask" Jeff said trying to gauge Alan's expression.

"What makes you think there's something wrong?" Alan said looking down at his hands trying to avoid the question.

"Alan is something troubling you? If there is then tell me and we can work through it," Jeff noticed that Alan started to look nervous. Now he knew something was definitely wrong.

"I'm fine dad ok. Gordon just surprised me, that's all" Alan could feel his frustration growing. Getting up he walked over to the balcony, leaning with his arms folded on the railing watching the sun go down.

Jeff watched his son closely. Alan's behavior had been this way ever since the Hood's attack which concerned Jeff greatly. Had the Hood said something to Alan or was it just the whole experience of it weighing on his mind.

Jeff got up and followed his son.

He mimicked his son and lent on the railing. "Alan you know that's not what I was talking about. You've been becoming more and more distant all summer. You're snapping at your brothers and the only time I ever see you is at meal times. Now please, talk to me son".

"Dad I told you I'm fine so can you drop it", Alan continued to stare out at the ocean, but he could feel his father watching him.

Jeff fell silent, still watching his son; he was deciding whether he should go with his hunch on what was troubling him.

Jeff quietly cleared his throat he chose his words carefully. "Is it to do with what happened with the Hood?" Alan flinched. That was it! Alan didn't even have to talk Jeff could see the answer to the question in his son's expression. But as quickly as it appeared it was replaced by anger. Alan flung himself off the railing storming back into his room ignoring his father's presence.

"Alan I can't help you if you don't talk to me" Jeff had followed him inside.

"Just drop it ok. There's nothing wrong" Alan was practically shouting now.

"Alan…..please" Jeff pleaded to his son.

"If you wanna help me, just leave me alone" Alan turned his back to his father.

Jeff looked at the floor at a loss for what to say.

Jeff looked at his son, "Alan I…."

At that point an alarm sounded through the household. 'Great timing' Jeff thought darkly as Alan looked back at him. Jeff nodded and they both made their way out the door at a run.

By the time they had reached Jeff's office Brains had already brought up the command and control center. "What's the situation Brains?" Jeff asked as they entered.

"There's a massive fire at the St Frances High School, just outside Paris, in France. Staff reported that there was an explosion," Brains explained as the rest of the Tracy brothers, Fermat and TinTin came running in.

"So we'll need the fire fighting equipment" Jeff concluded and Brains agreed.

"Ok boys lets get suited up" Jeff said as he stepped into the tube behind his portrait.

Scott, Virgil, Gordon and Alan did the same.

"Mr. Tracy can we help?" TinTin asked as she put her hand on Fermat's shoulder.

"Not this time guys. Stay here and help coordinate the rescue with John and Brains." TinTin and Fermat both nodded.

"Thunderbirds are go!" and with that Jeff and the boys disappeared behind their portraits.

TBC

_Hi fellow surfers! Well that's the second chapter I hope it meets with your approval. Please send me your reviews and any ideas your might have I'd appreciate it._


	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I don't own Thunderbirds in any way.

_Here we go again…I'm on a role!_

CHAPTER THREE – Inferno 

"Scott what's your E.T.A?" Jeff asked over the radio.

"My estimated time of arrival is in five minutes".

"We're right on your tail. E.T.A twelve minutes" Jeff confirmed.

Alan and Gordon were in Thunderbird Two with Jeff and Virgil at the controls. Alan hadn't said a word since they had taken off and continued to stare out of the windows of giant craft the whole way there.

Jeff looked back at Alan and noticed Gordon was looking at him with a puzzled expression. Gordon glanced at Alan then back at his dad and Jeff understood what he was asking. Jeff wasn't the only one to notice Alan's silence. Turning back to the controls he noted Virgil had also been glancing back at Alan every now and then and Jeff knew he was worried about the quietness of his younger brother.

Virgil being one of the more down to earth and mild mannered of all the Tracy brothers cared deeply for all his brothers but felt protective towards Alan, as they all did, because he was the youngest. When they were kids Virgil always looked out for Alan and Gordon. Virgil remembered one incident when Alan was just five years old, he had fallen and grazed his arm while Virgil and his brothers had been trying to teach him to play baseball. Alan had gone straight to Virgil and held out his arm crying that it hurt. Virgil had just smiled and took him inside where he fished out a band-aid from the cupboard. After that incident whenever Alan injured himself he always came straight to him. Virgil smiled at the memory.

"E.T.A three minutes. Thunderbird One is already on the ground" Virgil looked at the location monitor seeing Thunderbird One a good sixty yards from the rescue area, 'that must be some fire for him to land so far away'.

Glancing back at Alan again he couldn't help the worry he felt. He knew that Alan had had a hard time with the Hood when he had trapped them on Thunderbird Five and they were all worried about Alan, TinTin and Fermat that day when they were stuck on the Island being chased by that lunatic and his henchmen. But they had all come through and saved them all. Virgil shook his head trying to get his concentration back on the mission.

"Virgil, you and Gordon go get the firefly ready" Jeff ordered.

"FAB Dad" Virgil answered before he and Gordon left the cockpit.

"Thunderbird Two to Thunderbird One"

"Go ahead dad" came Scott's voice over the radio.

"Where just coming into land now. How does it look?" Jeff asked.

"Most of the school is in flames and there are still some kids trapped in the main building. The teachers are counting heads as we speak to confirm how many are missing" Scott replied.

"FAB Scott. When we land Virgil and Gordon will bring out the firefly and I want you to get into your fire gear understood?"

"Sure dad, Scott out"

Jeff turned back to Alan who was still gazing out the window, "Alan".

Alan started at the sound of his name, as his mind had been elsewhere

"Alan I need you focused son. Are you sure your up to this?" Jeff was still a little worried.

"Dad I'm fine, really" Alan answered smiling at his father.

"…ok son. Go get your fire suit and breathing gear on".

"FAB" and with that he left the cockpit.

Scott watched from the ground next to Thunderbird One ready in his fire suit as Thunderbird Two executed a speedy yet perfect landing. The legs lifted the giant cargo ship up off the ground and the Firefly rolled down off its carrier platform.

Scott waited until his father and Alan exited the ship and came running over, also wearing their fire gear, to meet him

There were people everywhere all shouting to each other in French. Over fifty fire engines and hundreds of fire fighters were working hard to stop the blaze in the 18th century school building. Paramedics and the police were taking care of the injured and controlling the scene as on lookers and terrified school kids watched from a safe distance. Scott could only describe the scene before him as controlled chaos.

"Scott what's the situation?" Jeff asked as they reached Scott who was helping the police.

"Teachers have confirmed that three kids are missing. They said that they were last seen on the first floor in the main building which is that one over there" Scott pointed to the largest building.

"Ok, this is what we're going to do. We're going to get as close to the entrance as we safely can then Virgil and Gordon will use the foam from the Firefly to dowse the flames at the front of the building. Once they're done you, me and Alan will go in and look for the kids" Jeff finished receiving affirmatives from Scott and Alan.

"Jeff to Firefly, Virgil, Gordon did you get that?" Jeff asked through his headset.

"FAB dad, we're already in position" Virgil answered.

"Just say the word" came Gordon's voice.

"Scott go and speak to the fire chief and tell him what we're going to do. We'll go and tell the paramedics to get ready," Jeff ordered.

"FAB" and Scott, who could speak basic French, ran off in the direction of the commanding fire chief.

Once the emergency services were notified the fire department were in position to assist the Firefly in the firefight. Jeff, Scott and Alan quickly got into position pulling their fire helmets over their heads.

"Ok Gordon open her up" Jeff called through the radio and the Firefly's heat resistant foam smashed through the fire, and the burning giant 12 foot oak front doors, ripping them off their hinges with ease. At that signal the firemen turned on their hoses to assist.

The flames reseeded and were slowly extinguished at the front of the building, but Jeff and the boys knew that they only had a short amount of time to find the children before the fire would spread again.

The fire had receded just in time as the Firefly abruptly ran out of foam.

"Ok we're out, its now or never dad" Virgil called over the radio from the Firefly.

"Lets go!" Jeff shouted and he, Scott and Alan ran into the burning building to find the kids.

"We need to get to the first floor. Boys don't get separated ok. The stairs are just ahead," they made their way to the end of the wide stone and wood corridor and up the old wooden staircase.

"Dad the fire is already starting to take hold again," Scott shouted ahead as they reached the first floor.

"Yeah we have to move fast. Come on boys" Jeff led the way.

"Check all the rooms. Alan take the ones on the right, Scott the ones on the left, I'll check the rooms further up but stay within sight of each other and whatever you do don't break radio contact understood?"

"FAB dad"

"FAB". Alan and Scott started to check the rooms on either side while Jeff headed on down the corridor.

It was starting to get hotter and the corridor quickly filled with thick smoke. They continued to search each room they came to and were going deeper and deeper into the building.

"Any sign of them Alan?" Scott asked meeting his brother as he walked out of the room he was searching.

"Nothing. Are you sure they said they were on this floor?" Alan asked turning back to his brother.

"Yeah the first floor. They must be here. I'm going to head further down but you'll still be able to see me if you need any help" Scott looked in the direction his father had gone then back at Alan.

"Sure, I'll be fine here." came Alan's response.

Scott set off down the corridor. Alan watched him go feeling a little annoyed that Scott felt he needed to watch over him all the time. Shaking off the thought Alan walked to the next room when a sound caught his attention.

Stopping he looked round, but all he could see was heavy smoke and a distinct red glow as small fires were starting to burn all the way down the corridor.

Alan shook his head, 'the heat must be getting to me', he thought and he went to open the next door. All of a sudden Alan stopped and spun round to face one of the many adjoining corridors that they had come across. 'No….I didn't imagine it' Alan thought to himself.

"That sounds like...like voices. Kids voices!" Alan's smile spread across his face as he recognized the noise.

Without a second thought he ran down the adjoining corridor following the sound of the voices. As he went further into the building the noises got louder and louder. It felt like the corridor had gone on forever until he came to a room with modern looking double doors. Opening the doors slowly he stepped inside the dark and dingy room.

Alan noted that it wasn't so much a room but a hall, 'a dining hall by the looks of it' he thought as he walked slowly onwards.

"HELLO? IS ANYONE IN HERE?" Alan shouted and an echo resonated through the large hall. There was debris everywhere and the ceiling didn't look like it was going to hold up for long.

"HELLO…IS ANYONE THERE?" Alan tried again.

"Over 'ear" came a quiet voice.

Alan quickly walked over to the far end of the hall and he sighed in relief as he spotted all three children sitting huddled together under a large oak table, their faces black from the smoke and ash.

"Guys its going to be ok I'm going to get you out of here. Are any of you hurt?" Alan asked as he lifted two girls and a boy one at a time out from under the table.

"We is not 'urt sir" said one of the girls.

Alan could see the fear in their faces as they huddled together. 'Man they can't be much older than seven or eight, no wonder they're scared' Alan thought.

"Ok listen to me I want you to stay close behind me ok? We're gonna get out of here." Alan reassured them.

Alan led the way and the children followed close behind, one of them never letting go of the back of Alan's fire suit, as they made their way through the dining hall.

"Dad, dad do you read me?" Alan called over his headset.

"Alan, I told you to stay within sight of each other, we've been looking all over for you." came Jeff's reply.

Alan could tell his father was angry with him for running off. "Dad I've found all the kids, we're in the dining hall." Alan continued.

"Alan the fire's spread back down the corridors. We've got your location so we're coming to you, just stay where you are." Jeff replied.

"Ok but hurry dad the cei…." All of a sudden the kids screams were heard, followed by loud rumbling and then a crashing sound echoed over the radio waves.

"ALAN" shouted Jeff and Scott in unison.

"Alan come in," Jeff repeated.

"Alan please respond".

"ALAN!", but the only sound that came through the radio was the endless buzz of static."

TBC

_Will Alan be ok? _

_Will things begin to unravel? _

_Next chapter will be up shortly!_


	4. Chapter Four

_Hi again._

_Thanks for the reviews I'm relieved my story is going down well considering I haven't been writing for that long._

_Thanks for the help Meercat I'll try to incorporate what you said into my story. Your Phoenix Rising story was one of the first fanfics I ever read (great story it had me gripped!) and its great to have your insight._

To all readers: Please be patient as future chapter uploads may be a little slow in coming but they will come.

**CHAPTER FOUR - Concerned**

"Virgil, give me Alan's location!"

"Dad he's about 90 yards from your location. If you head south of your position 40 yards then take the left corridor and then go straight ahead." Virgil replied quickly.

"FAB. Stay there and stand by boys." Jeff cut the transmission.

"Be careful." Virgil whispered more to himself. Back in the Firefly Virgil and Gordon had been listening to their progress when Alan's radio went dead. Virgil and Gordon shared worried looks, as all they could do was wait and pray for their brother's safety.

Back in the building the dust had settled and silence filled the dining hall.

Alan moaned as he slowly regained consciousness.

'Mmm…….what the hell was that?' Alan's sluggish mind slowly came back into reality as the thought appeared.

'Man, I feel like I was run over by the mole', he smiled at the thought and then grimaced as pain exploded in his head.

Frowning he slowly opened his eyes, squinting in the smoky air he was momentarily surprised to be greeted by three horrified faces.

"Mister are you alright?" said the boy in a very strong French accent.

"Yeah I'm fine." Alan lied as he slowly raised himself into a sitting position unsettling the dust that had fallen on him. The movement made him feel nauseous, closing his eyes tightly and breathing deeply he tried to block out the feeling.

Alan noticed that the kids were starting to cough more from the mixture of smoke and dust, and then he noticed it…the fire had reached the dining hall! 'Probably due to the ceiling collapsing' Alan thought.

"Come on, we can't stay here." Slowly he raised himself to his feet. As he stood his legs started to give way and he grabbed hold of a large wooden beam for support.

He slowly led the kids through the dining hall moving around and climbing over the wooden beams and plaster that had fallen from the ceiling. Alan also noticed that he was having trouble focusing, 'probably a concussion, just what I need right now'.

"Dad can you hear me?"

There was no answer.

"Dad, this is Alan come in?"

Nothing.

"Scott, Virgil, Gordon, any of you guys reading me?"

Nothing.

"Thunderbird Five come in. John do you read me?"

Alan received nothing but static.

"Radio must be damaged." Alan breathed heavily as they had made it safely to the other side of the dining hall.

"Ok guys lets go." He led the kids out and into the burning corridor.

"Dad, Dad Alan's locater signal is moving!" Virgil called in relief.

"Thank god. Where is he heading?" Jeff slowed his pace down the corridor.

"He's heading in your direction, you should be able to see him soon." Virgil answered his father.

"FAB Virgil."

"Dad I see him…..and the kids, they're alright." Scott shouted back at his father in relief as they both ran up to greet them.

"Hey squirt you had us all worried." Scott clapped a hand on his brother's shoulder in greeting. Even this movement caused Alan to almost lose his already fragile equilibrium and he swayed putting his hand on his brother's opposite shoulder for support.

"Alan are you alright?" Scott asked in concern grabbing his brother's arms.

"I'm fine." Alan replied weakly trying to stop the corridor from spinning by closing his eyes and trying to wriggle out of his brother's grip at the same time with little success.

"Alan what happened?" Jeff looked at his youngest son in concern.

"He got hit on zee head when zee ceiling came down." one of the girls answered looking up at Jeff.

Jeff looked at her in surprise at her statement realizing that that was the crashing sound they all heard over the radio.

"Alan we've got to get out of here fast and your going straight to the med bay when we do." Jeff said in a voice that left little room for negotiation.

"Dad I'm ok, really!" Alan argued as he finally freed himself from his brother's grasp.

"It's not a request Alan it's an order, now lets go before the fire traps us inside." Jeff grabbed the hands of two of the children while Scott took hold of the other kid. Jeff led the way as Alan followed and Scott brought up the rear to watch their backs…..and to secretly keep an eye on Alan.

Jeff radioed ahead to inform Virgil and Gordon that they had found Alan and the missing children and that they were on their way out.

They reached the stairs and made their way down. The kids continued to cough from the smoke as they reached the bottom. Flames licked at the walls on each side and the smoke was blinding. Jeff walked cautiously with the kids behind him hanging onto his fire suit. Suddenly a ceiling beam came crashing down behind them. Jeff heard Scott shout as he looked back.

"RUN!" came Scott's cry as the whole ceiling started coming down.

Jeff bodily picked up the two girls behind him, one under each arm and ran as fast as he could for the exit. Scott scooped the boy up into his arms and ran following in Alan's footsteps.

"GUYS HURRY!" Virgil shouted frantically over the radio.

They ran out the entrance just in time as a huge explosion echoed through the night air. When Jeff reached the Firefly he looked back at the school and realized that the whole internal structure of the building had just caved in.

Breathing a sigh of relief he put the kids down.

"You two alright?" Jeff asked them both.

"Oui sir"

"Merci" the girls said.

Jeff gave them a thumbs up before the paramedics took them off to the waiting ambulance. Scott deposited the boy into the waiting arms of a female paramedic then walked over to his father and Alan who were recovering from the run.

Well…that was exhilarating".

Jeff raised an eyebrow at Scott's idea of exhilarating. Scott laughed at the look he received.

At that point Virgil and Gordon hopped down from the Firefly.

"That was awesome! It was like an action movie!" Gordon said excitedly grinning from ear to ear.

"Yeah, you sure were cutting it close." Virgil said in quiet relief.

"We're fine. Sorry to worry you all, but it was an outstanding job boys well done," Jeff admitted smiling at his sons.

Jeff looked back at the burning building where the firefighters had finally got the blaze under control and in retreat.

"I think they can take it from here. Lets go home." Jeff finished, and he and Gordon started back towards Thunderbird Two.

"Alan? Are you feeling ok?" Virgil asked watching his brother sway on his feet next to him.

The rest of the family looked back just in time to watch Alan fall. Standing next to him Virgil reached out to catch him and lay him down on the ground.

"ALAN" Jeff shouted running back and kneeling by his youngest son.

"Dad what's wrong with him?" Virgil asked. A look of shock on his face.

"One of the kids said a part of the ceiling fell on him when he was trying to get them out." Jeff admitted quietly.

"Gordon go get a stretcher from Thunderbird Two. Hurry!" Jeff commanded and Gordon ran off at high speed back to Thunderbird Two.

Scott knelt down next Alan's head and started to slowly remove his fire helmet, being careful not to hurt him. As he slowly eased the helmet over his head their eyes widened as they could see one half of Alan's face was smeared with blood. Jeff quickly put his fingers to Alan's neck to feel for a pulse and to his immense relief he felt a strong pulse under his fingers.

"It could be concussion." Scott said looking up at them.

"Well we'll give him a thorough check over once we get him back to Thunderbird Two's med bay." Jeff stood up as Gordon came running up to them with a carry stretcher under his arm.

They carefully moved him onto the stretcher and strapped him in and working together carried him back to Thunderbird Two.

TBC

_Well there you go._

_Please review it's much appreciated._


	5. Chapter Five

_Disclaimer: I don't own Thunderbirds in any way._ _Greetings! Sorry for the wait for the latest chapter. I hope it meet with everyone's approval. _   
CHAPTER FIVE – Evil Dwells 

Alan's first thought was that he was dreaming. Blurred images flashed in front of his eyes.

'Where am I?' he thought confused.

Then the images started to come back into focus. He could see….red, yes! definitely red, and a large shape. He could hear a faint humming sound, like the sound of machinery in the distance. Concentrating harder on the image he could just make out a face, he was looking up at this face. Then suddenly the feeling of fear crept into his mind, but fear of what? He couldn't put his finger on it.

Then, in an instant the image in front of him became as clear as day and looking up in shocked realization Alan knew what he was seeing. It was the Hood!

Looking down in his mind Alan could now see where the sound was coming from as the sharp teeth of the Mole spun inches below his feet. It was the same recurring dream he had been having for months, but each time it was different.

Alan looked back up in shear panic to see the Hood laughing maliciously down at him, attempting to pries Alan from the bar, which he gripped tightly, hanging over the edge of the walkway.

'This isn't real….you can't be real!' Alan screamed in his mind.

The Hood stopped laughing and snarled. 'You can't escape this time Alan', the snarl turned into a triumphant grin.

'This isn't real, this is just a dream, just a nightmare' Alan cried shaking his head.

The Hood glared down at him, 'I will always be in your mind Alan, and I WILL have my revenge…..soon!'

Looking up Alan could see the Hood's eyes turn red and before he even had time to react his hands slid from the bar of their own accord. Alan screamed in horror as he could see himself falling towards the Mole.

"Alan wake up!"

Alan suddenly felt something shaking him by the shoulders and panicking he tried to fight free of the hold.

"Calm down Alan you're safe."

Alan slowly slipped back into consciousness and realized that it was a person holding him. Still fighting he slowly opened his eyes and was met with the concerned faces of his family. Looking frantically around he realized that he was in Thunderbird Two's med bay and Virgil, Gordon, Scott and his father were all looking down at him.

"Alan, look at me."

Looking back to the people above him he saw that his dad had his hands on his shoulders.

"Alan are you ok?" Jeff asked letting go of him.

Without answering his father Alan tried to sit up but was stopped by Jeff who held him back down.

"Don't even think about it, you've got a concussion son." Jeff ordered his son.

"What happened?" Alan breathed looking up slightly stunned.

"One of the kids said you got hit on the head in the school, when we all made it outside you collapsed. You've got a nasty gash on your head" Scott answered kneeling down next to the cot Alan was currently lying on.

Alan looked at him in confusion, "Yeah…..yeah, I remember now. Man that hurt." Alan said as touched his bandaged head grimacing as it began to throb.

"I'll bet it did. Not everyday the ceiling comes down on top of you." Virgil said smiling.

"Hey Alan who were you yelling at?" Gordon asked peering over Scott's shoulder.

"Uh?…Oh nothing, it was just a nightmare." Alan muttered trying to convince himself as he did so.

"Must have been a real shocker because you were all over the place!" Gordon grinned.

Alan closed his eyes, the dream still fresh in his mind, "It was just a bad dream that's all".

"Ok that's enough questions for now, we have to get moving" Jeff said as he stood up.

"Scott get back to Thunderbird One, Virgil, Gordon go get Thunderbird Two ready take off and inform John that the rescue is complete and that we're heading home".

They each nodded and left the med bay.

"Alan I want you to remain in the med bay for the journey. We'll come and get you once we land." Jeff looked at his son noting how tired he looked.

Alan paused before answering, "Ok Dad".

Jeff smiled warmly at his son, then left to join the others in the cockpit closing the door behind him.

Only when Jeff was on his way back up to the cockpit did he let his true worry show. Being a father he had to put on a strong front for the sake of his sons and although they were all adults themselves, apart from Alan, he still felt he had to give them that presence of stability.

Jeff could tell that Scott, Gordon and Virgil were worried about their younger brother. Although Alan had been behaving differently ever since the Hood invaded Tracy Island it was when he came home earlier that year for the summer that he had started to distance himself from everyone. Jeff sighed inwardly and vowed to himself that he would find out what was troubling Alan.

Once Jeff reached the cockpit Virgil and Gordon were ready to take off.

"Well boys, lets go" and with that Thunderbirds One and Two lifted off and set course for home.

Meanwhile about 400 miles away, nestled deep within the English countryside, a top security prison stood out in the darkness of night its floodlights moving about the ground.

Inside on level three, cell 49, a dark figure sat crossed legged on his cot silhouetted by the moonlight seeping in through the bared window.

Opening his eyes the Hood smiled as he came out of his meditation.

'Everything is going according to plan' standing he walked to the window. The bars cast shadows across the Hoods face.

'Soon I will be free from my prison. Then I can repay the Thunderbirds for this outrage' the Hoods lip curled as he thought of how the Tracy's had escaped death from Thunderbird Five and ruined his plans.

'They will not escape their fate a second time…..I guarantee it!'

'Alan will make sure of that!'

The Hood smiled maliciously as he ran over his well thought out plan for revenge in is mind. When he was sentenced to prison the Hood had already begun work on his escape.

No one knew of his abilities so getting what he wanted was not a problem. Not even the courageous Jeff Tracy had been observant enough to notice his true power. The fool!

His original minions, Mullion and Transom, had already successfully gained freedom during their journey in a police van from court. The Hood had masterminded their escape by using some of his many thugs (the Hood had a very healthy Swiss bank account thanks to his old illegal diamond mining business) on the outside to hijack the van and aid their escape. They, in turn, were currently awaiting orders for the Hoods escape.

Reminiscing about his days back with his brother in the diamond mines the Hood was reminded again of his failed bank robbery.

'That girl is most unique. Its shocking to think that my weakling brother could have such a strong daughter' the Hood pondered rubbing his chin.

'I will have to deal with my little niece at a later time'. The Hood knew that her powers were far weaker than his own, but still, she posed a threat that he could not allow.

"Tomorrow I will be free and I will make Jeff's whole family pay," the Hood snarled quietly, his eyes reddening as he muttered his promise to the night.

TBC

_Please review._

_Again sorry it's been a while but chapters will come._


	6. Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX – Brothers Talk 

When they landed back at Tracy Island it was 4am in the morning and Alan was taken from Thunderbird Two to the infirmary in the house. Brains checked him over, changed the bandage and Jeff ushered him straight off to bed

Alan had slept only two hours before his dreams forced him out of bed. After breakfast he sat outside by the pool reading a magazine while Gordon and Scott splashed around in the pool determined to see who could drown the other first.

"Hey Alan, you coming in?" Scott shouted from the end of the pool. He currently had Gordon's head under his arm as his brother splashed around like a landed fish trying to escape the hold.

Alan looked up smiling "No I'm not in a drowning mood at the moment".

Swimming over Scott placed his hands on the edge of the poolside and hauled himself out perching on the edge next to Alan's lounger.

"Hey sprout, how's the head?"

"Fine" Alan answered quietly.

"You sure you're alright?" Scott asked seriously.

Alan didn't answer and looked down at the magazine on his lap fiddling with one of the corners of the front cover.

Frowning, Scott turned round so he was facing his brother, watching him closely.

"Alan if something is wrong please tell me, or any of us. We're all worried about you" Scott said quietly so Gordon wouldn't over hear.

"Worried?" Alan asked looking up surprised by the statement.

"You've been avoiding everyone all summer" Scott answered as he stood up.

"I'm just feeling a little down this summer," Alan said sighing.

Scott didn't believe that. Silence fell as he watched Alan stare at his magazine, knew he wouldn't get the truth out of his brother. He decided to wait for Alan to tell them when he was ready to talk, instead of pushing him.

Scott smiled "Never mind kiddo, there's plenty more summer days left so hopefully you'll start to feel better soon".

"Yeah, I'm sure I will. Thanks Scott" Alan returned his brother's smile as Scott ruffled his hair affectionately before heading back into the house.

Before he reached the entrance to the house Scott had an idea. He turned back to his youngest brother "Hey, do you want to give me a hand with Thunderbird One's maintenance checks?"

"Uh, no thanks Scott. I think I'll just hang out if it's all the same with you" Alan looked back at his eldest brother before turning back to his magazine.

Scott was shocked, and a little hurt that Alan was refusing the opportunity to work in his beloved Thunderbird One. Alan loved Thunderbird One almost as much as he did and never passed up the opportunity to work on the ship…until now.

He stood there watching for a moment. Alan looked pale, he had dark circles under his eyes and his entire posture seemed withdrawn. Scott frowned sadly. Being the eldest of all the Tracy brothers Scott took it upon himself to look after all of them. After their mother had died their father had been struggling with his own grief, so Scott did what he could to help. He comforted his brothers, made sure they were ready for school, that they were doing their homework and that they were safe where ever they were.

It had left Scott little time to deal with his own sadness over his mother's death but he felt it was his responsibility. Scott cared deeply for his brothers and vowed he would never let anything happen to them. Yet, for all his trying, he couldn't get Alan to open up to him.

Heaving a silent sigh he headed into the house.

Gordon jumped out of the pool and grabbing a nearby towel followed Scott, smiling at Alan as he went past, into the house.

Once Gordon was out of sight Alan frowned. He knew that he wanted to tell somebody, he had to tell somebody or he was going to go crazy. But he didn't want to tell Fermat, TinTin, his father, in fact there was no one around he wanted to talk to because he feared that they might think he was really crazy.

Closing his eyes Alan sighed deeply, there was only one person he felt he could talk to about his nightmares. Getting up Alan walked back into the house dropping the magazine on the floor as he went.

Alan entered his father's office and was relieved to see that his father wasn't there. Sitting down at the desk he turned to the computer screen and punched in something on the keyboard.

After a few seconds an image came up on the screen.

"Thunderbird five go ahead" came John's response as he moved up to the screen.

"Hey John, how's it going?" Alan asked smiling at his long distant brother.

A confused look came over John's face "Alan? Is everything ok? Where's dad?"

"Dad's fine I uh, I just wanted to talk that's all" Alan said, his smile fading.

"Ha, dad doesn't know you're here does he", it was more a statement than a question. Jeff didn't like his sons constantly calling John, as it distracting him from his work on Thunderbird Five. John didn't mind in the least, as long as the calls were not to long.

Alan looked down at the table.

"Well you know I won't say anything, I never get to see much of you as it is, so what can I do for you kiddo?" John smiled sitting down in his chair.

"Well…I was wondering if I could talk to you about something, but I don't want anybody else to know so do you think we can keep it between us?" Alan asked slightly nervous.

"Sure. What's on your mind?" John leaned back in the chair with a slight frown on his features.

Alan breathed deeply leaning on the desk "You remember what happened last summer with the Hood?"

John nodded still frowning.

"Well….I haven't been able to get it out of my head. I keep having these nightmares, and he's there every time in my dreams" Alan continued looking up at the screen.

"When you say 'he' you mean the Hood right?"

Alan nodded "It's got so bad I'm……I can't go to sleep without dreaming about that day".

John could see that Alan was agitated and he wasn't sure, but he thought he could see fear in his eyes

"What is it about the dreams that's so bad?" John asked leaning in closer to the screen.

"Its just that…I know the Hood didn't win and we saved the day and all but…" Alan paused thinking about his next words carefully, "Whenever I dream about what happened its different".

"How different, what do you mean?" John asked watching his brother closely.

Alan had started to look really nervous John noted 'Man, these nightmares are really getting him'.

"….The Hood always wins, and he's saying things to me. Things that he hadn't really said that day" Alan finally answered.

"You're sure? What kind of things Alan?" John asked slightly concerned.

"He says that he's going to have his revenge. That I can't escape it, and that he's going to kill me!" Alan said looking down and clasping his hands in an attempt to calm himself.

John's eyes widened.

"Alan haven't you told dad? If the nightmares are that bad dad can help you. Are you sure you're not just imagining it?"

"NO I'm not imagining it, and NO I don't want them to know. You know that they'll only worry and fuss and dad won't let me go on missions and Gordon will think I'm the prize candidate for a loony bin and…"Alan stopped mid rant and sighed.

"I just want to deal with it alone. I'm not a kid anymore and I don't want them treating me like one" Alan looked his older brother in the eyes "promise me you won't say anything to them about this, please".

John was almost tempted to interrupt and remind him that he was in fact still a kid but decided that now was not the time for arguing. His brother needed his help.

"Please"

"Ok kiddo, if that's what you want" John said with a forced smile.

"Thanks John, it is" Alan replied gratefully.

"How long have you been having these dreams anyway?" John asked curiously.

Alan thought for a minute, "About four months I think. I had been having dreams before then about the Hood but they were just replays of what really happened. The dreams changed around Easter time ".

John thought for a moment leaning forward to rest his arms on the control desk.

"I don't know what it could mean, but if there's something I can do to help just say the word" John said trying to reassure Alan.

"I don't know yet. I just wanted to talk to you about it. I didn't think that I'd feel comfortable talking about it to anyone else" Alan admitted.

John laughed softly, "Well kiddo my job is to listen, and keeping a secret down there isn't easy I'll bet".

"Not with Gordon around" Alan answered and they both laughed.

"Don't worry Alan you won't have to suffer him for much longer, he's relieving me from Thunderbird five in a week" John watched as Alan's face lit up at this thought.

Alan really missed John, as he was usually at school when John was back on earth, so the only time he ever saw him was at Christmas and at some point during the summer.

Alan froze suddenly and looked in the direction of the door.

John gave him a puzzled look "What's wrong?"

Alan looked back at the screen. "Someone's coming. I'll see you when you come home next week"

"Ok I'll speak to you soon Alan and take care of that head of yours," John gave him, what he hoped, was a warm supportive smile.

"I will and I'll see you soon" Alan finished and cut the link just in time as Jeff walked in reading a newspaper.

"Alan? What are you doing in here?" Jeff asked looking up to see Alan standing up from the desk.

"Nothing, I was just, uh, looking for a book I was reading" Alan lied quickly walking out the door.

Jeff frowned as he watched him leave.

Later that day over in England the prison sirens burst into action sending birds far and wide flying in fright.

"HE'S GONE," shouted a guard.

"ORDER AN IMMEDIATE LOCKDOWN, NOW!" shouted another guard.

In an instant all the cell doors closed locking the prisoners safely in as guards came running from all directions.

"What happened?" demanded the warden as he came hurrying over to inspect the situation.

"We're not sure sir. When we opened up the cells just now he wasn't there" one of the guards answered.

The warden looked inside the empty cell, "search his cell!"

The guards rushed in turning the contents of the small room upside down.

"Sir! You better come take a look at this!" a guard shouted from inside the cell.

Hurrying inside everyone was focused on the bottom left hand corner of the back wall that had been obscured by the small bed.

The warden's eyes widened as he looked, in astonishment, at the hole that was just big enough to crawl through.

"One of the watchmen outside must have seen him," the warden asked looking back at his men.

"But sir, look. The debris is on the inside. Someone has dug through from outside!" one of the guards explained wide-eyed.

Just then another guard came running up to the cell entrance, gasping for breath.

"Sir…the night watchmen…we found some of them in one of the storage sheds…They're unconscious,"

"What about the gates. The whole perimeter of the prison is electrified" The warden asked still trying to comprehend what had happened.

"The guards at the gates seem to be in some kind of trance. They're just standing there!" the guard answered his superior.

The warden glared round at the guards. "Are you telling me that he escaped with outside help, from the third floor, climbed down the outside wall and…..walked…out of hear unchallenged and unchecked?"

The guards looked at each other then looked back at the warden with defeated, embarrassed expressions.

Pleading to the heavens for sanity the warden closed his eyes and thought for a minute, "Alright, I'll inform the police of the breakout. I want you all to be on guard and hopefully this is an isolated incident. DO NOT…Talk to anyone outside the prison about this, do you understand?"

The guards nodded their heads vigorously.

The warden left the cell heading for his office, 'the press will have a field day with this one'. Sighing in defeat he closed the door behind him as he entered his office.

'How could it have been an outside job in broad daylight?' he thought, then remembering a police report he had read a few days back it suddenly dawned on him. The Hood's accomplices had escaped earlier that year, and now the Hood had escaped with outside help.

The warden didn't waste anymore time and picked up the phone to notify the police. He planned to keep a lid on the escape for the time being until they figured out exactly how the Hood 'walked' out of prison.

TBC


	7. Chapter Seven

**CHAPTER SEVEN – Movie Magic**

Darkness engulfed the Island as nighttime set in and Alan, TinTin, Scott and Virgil sat on the orange sofa in the lounge while Gordon and Fermat sat in the floor in front of them. Gordon had insisted on watching a particularly gory horror movie and as they had nothing better to do the kids, Virgil and Scott had decided to watch it with him.

The rest of the house was silent as they sat in the dark glued to the screen. TinTin had at some point unknowingly latched herself to Alan's arm, huddling into him as the film went on.

Alan didn't mind, he understood how she felt the movie was pretty gruesome. Alan looked down at Fermat and Gordon and noted that they had slowly but surely been moving closer and closer to the TV. Smiling, Alan looked to his left, over TinTin's head, and could see Virgil concentrating on the movie and Scott who appeared to be falling asleep, leaning his head back on the back of the sofa, his eyelids drooped.

Seeing this Alan yawned, it wasn't particularly late but he suddenly felt exhausted. Shaking his head he focused back on the TV screen.

Suddenly a woman on the screen let out a blood-curdling scream and TinTin jumped next to him gripping his arm tighter while Fermat suddenly scooted back a few feet.

"Hey don't worry squirt it's only a movie," Gordon said to Fermat turning round to look at him

"It's not scary I just wasn't ant-an-anti-an expecting it" Fermat answered defiantly.

"Come on, the monster isn't gonna leap out at you" Gordon tried to pull Fermat back to the screen.

"I'm f-f-fi-f comfortable here thanks " Fermat squeaked in reply settling in front of the sofa. Virgil chuckled at the scene.

Alan was struggling to keep his eyes open. It was like something was dragging him into sleep, something he couldn't see.

Unable to fight it any longer Alan drifted off leaning back against the sofa, and immediately found himself dreaming.

Alan was expecting to find himself in the same nightmare dangling above the Mole in the bank of London. But this was different. He wasn't in the bank of London, but in a large space.

It was dark, but light lit the room from fire torches that hung on the walls behind him.

Looking around Alan could make out red and gold painted walls and ceiling covered in elaborate patterns. The very ground appeared to be made of gold as Alan gazed in awe at his reflection in the floor.

'I don't remember this place' Alan thought trying to recall ever seeing a room like this.

"Hello?" Alan called to the empty room, his voice echoed eerily through the endless cavern.

Silence. An uneasy feeling started to dwell in his mind.

'This is stupid, its just a room. Must be a museum or something' he tried to convince his emotions to settle. Alan took a tentative step forward keeping his eyes fixed on the darkness ahead.

"Greetings Alan. It's been a long time" came a low menacing voice from the darkness.

Alan froze. He knew that voice. It had been haunting his dreams for months and fear gripped him instantly.

A figure stepped forward out of the darkness. The Hood stood just three meters from Alan, smiling at him.

"I told you I will haunt your dreams" the Hoods smile turned into an evil glare his eyes instantly turning a deep crimson.

Alan felt himself being shoved as he was knocked off his feet and thrown back 10 feet into the torch lit wall. Alan's ears were ringing from his head hitting the wall, but he quickly recovered and scrambled back to his feet.

"You can't hurt the Thunderbirds anymore. You're just an illusion," Alan shouted defiantly returning the Hoods glare.

The Hood smiled.

"I promised you that I will have my revenge soon….and I will" the Hood stalked towards him as his eyes turned crimson again. Grabbing Alan around the throat one handed he easily lifted him off the ground assisted by his power.

Alan could feel the air escaping his lungs as he struggled for breath.

"If you think this is just an illusion then by all means try and wake yourself up" the Hood said grinning as he tightened his grip around Alan's throat.

Alan struggled trying to wake himself up. His eyes widened. He couldn't.

His struggles intensified at the realization and, gasping for air feet from the ground, he could feel his oxygen-starved mind beginning to slow down as unconsciousness threatened.

"Just a dream….Please!" the Hood laughed.

Alan's struggling slowed as darkness started to take hold.

Then, without warning, the Hood let him go and Alan dropped to the ground in a half conscious heap.

"We'll meet again Alan. Only next time I will show you no mercy," the Hood snarled, and then turning around, he slowly melted back into the shadows.

Alan continued to lie on the floor, breathing hard as he watched the Hood disappear. He squeezed his eyes shut in quiet relief when a sound caught his attention. It was coming from the dark side of the room.

Alan looked up his eyes widening. 'Wait a minute, I've heard that sound before' he thought wildly trying to scramble to his feet. Then out of the dark he could see it! It was the Mole. It was hidden in the darkness but Alan could see the glint of light coming from its spinning teeth.

"What the…hell?" Alan squinted in the darkness trying to see more of the Mole as he slowly and shakily managed to get to his feet leaning on the wall.

Then without warning the Mole surged forward with shocking speed. Alan didn't even have time to react as it came straight at him catching him in the chest.

"Aaaaah" Alan screamed as he woke up, falling off the sofa to the floor as he did so.

Rubbing his back Alan opened his eyes squinting in the bright light. 'Bright light? I thought we had the lights off' he thought foggily.

Rubbing his eyes as they adjusted to the light he looked around. 'Where the….how did I get here?' He gazed around in shock, not at the lounge, but at his own bedroom. He hadn't fallen off the sofa; he had fallen off his bed.

He slowly got to his feet, his head pounding in protest as he did so. He sat down heavily on his bed before his legs had the chance to crumple.

The sun shone in through the large windows as the sound of the ocean filled the room.

Alan tried to remember how he had got from the lounge to his room without remembering it. 'I was asleep, wasn't I?', still confused and his head aching painfully he couldn't even remember if he had seen the end of the movie.

He looked down at his watch. 9:26 a.m. A frown formed on his face. 'The movie started about 10:45 last night. How long was I asleep?' Alan's frown deepened as he absently rubbed at his neck.

Closing his eyes as he tried to shake the feeling of tiredness, but he only succeeded in making his headache worse. Opening his eyes again he decided to go in search of some painkillers before attempting to solve his mystery, and slowly and groggily he got to his feet.

He looked down and noticed that he had also somehow changed into his nightclothes.

Every muscle in his body ached. Feeling more confused than ever he made his way out the door and headed down to the kitchen.

TBC


	8. Chapter Eight

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Thunderbirds in any way._  
**

**CHAPTER EIGHT – Dream…or Reality **

Walking down the platform path into the living area he wandered over to the kitchen ignoring everyone and everything present.

Gordon lay on the sofa flicking through channels on the flat screen TV that hung on the far wall. Fermat and Tin Tin were outside in the pool and Virgil and Scott were sat on two of the breakfast stools next to the kitchen counter. Scott glanced up as Alan walked into the kitchen area.

"Morning sleeping beauty" Gordon hollered from his spot on the sofa.

"How was your hibernation?" Scott asked smiling.

Alan chose to ignore the comments and continued his search for the aspirin, rummaging in the cupboards and draws.

"Didn't anyone think to wake me for breakfast?"

"Dad didn't want to wake you, we said you looked tired last night so he wanted to let you sleep" Virgil answered not looking up from his paper.

Alan paused. He wanted to ask how he had gotten back to his room last night, but wondered if his brothers would give him a straight answer without getting all concerned for his mental health. Maybe they would just think he was pulling their legs. Frowning, he went back to his search, deciding not to ask that question.

"Hey take it easy kiddo! Onaha will give you nothing but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a week if you mess up her kitchen" Virgil called to his younger brother, who had his head stuck in a cupboard, before returning his attention back to the days paper.

Alan scowled at the thought.

"Score" he triumphantly pulled the small bottle from the shelf and proceeded to unscrew the cap. Tipping two tablets into his hand he popped them into his mouth and poured a glass of water from the tap to wash them down. He winced as he swallowed them.

When he turned back to his brothers he was surprised to see Scott staring at him, shock evident in his features.

"What?" Alan stared back in confusion.

At that point Virgil chose to look up from the paper. Glancing sidelong at his older brother, he raised an eyebrow when Scott suddenly got up and rounded the counter coming to stand face to face with Alan.

"Alan, where did you get these?" Scott asked quietly as he touched Alan's neck. His neck was covered in bruises, all of them the shape and size of finger marks.

"Where did I get what?" Alan continued to look at his brother in confusion.

Virgil came up to stand next to Scott curious as to what his older brother was looking at. He froze when he saw the marks.

"Alan, are you alright?" Virgil breathed.

"What are you two talking about? Did somebody put whiskey in your coffee this morning or something?" Alan smiled and glanced around them towards Gordon who glared back at him over the sofa mouthing 'don't blame me squirt!'

Scott bent down slightly to get a better look tracing the bruises with his fingers. Alan swatted his hand away.

"I don't know what you two are playing at but it's not funny" he glared at them convinced they were playing a joke.

"Alan, have you looked in a mirror today? You've got bruises on your neck" Virgil eyes were glued to the marks in concern.

At Virgil's comment Gordon, who had been half listening to the TV and half to their conversation, tore his eyes away from the screen, got up and walked quickly over to his brothers. "Alan have you had a fight with someone?" Gordon asked shocked.

"No!" Alan was stunned by the ridiculous question.

At that Scott grabbed him by both arms. "Who hurt you Alan?" He demanded softly looking into Alan's eyes.

"N-no one" Alan was starting to feel nervous and a little intimidated by all the attention. Then his dream came back to him. Reaching up to touch his neck, realization dawned as he remembered that the Hood had grabbed round the throat.

Alan's jaw dropped, 'It can't be' he thought wildly.

He couldn't tell them, he wouldn't tell them! The idea of the Hood strangling him in his dreams sounded ridiculous even to him, even if it was the truth.

But there was no way the Hood could be that powerful! …was there?

Scott looked closely at him trying to gauge his emotions. When the movie had finished the previous night Alan had fallen asleep on the sofa. They had woken him up and they had all gone to bed. Scott had noticed that his youngest brother's mind seemed to be elsewhere as he had walked lead-footed to his room. His eyes seemed empty, his expression blank and he had also looked every pale. At the time Scott thought it was probably exhaustion.

The idea of anyone on the Island hurting Alan was crazy, but those bruises clearly were not inflicted by Alan himself.

"Alan please, what happened". Virgil pleaded gently.

"Nothing. I had a bad dream. I- I must have done it in my sleep"

Scott sighed. "Alan, those bruises don't look self inflicted. You didn't have them last night, so who gave them to you?"

"I told you it's nothing!" Alan was starting to get angry at his brothers insistence. He pulled out of Scott's loose grip and went to the fridge to get some juice.

Gordon had to step out of the way as Alan reached for a fresh glass, "Alan, come on. We want to help".

"Guys I'm fine ok. No one hurt me. Now will you all just drop it!" He stormed out of the kitchen and back upstairs before any of them could stop him.

"Alan wait!" Scott called after him but Alan ignored him.

Once Alan was out of sight the other earth bound Tracy brothers looked at each other in disbelief.

"Scott? What should we do?" Gordon asked quietly, worry flooding his face.

Scott dawned a small smile and placed a reassuring hand on Gordon's shoulder. "We'll figure it out".

"Dad's going to see for himself eventually. Should we tell him before he finds out?" Virgil asked glancing in the direction of the path leading upstairs.

Scott thought for a minute. "Not yet. First I want to talk to John. See if he might shed some light on this for us".

Virgil glanced at Scott, "What makes you think he might know something".

"John told me a while back that we sometimes treat him like an agony aunt because he's so good at listening to people" Scott smiled.

Virgil and Gordon both gave small chuckles as the idea came to mind.

"Virg, can you come with me to make the call?"

Virgil nodded.

"Ok, Gordon can you try and keep an eye him why we go call John?"

"Yes sir!" Gordon gave a subdued smile and a halfhearted salute. Humor was far from his mind at the moment.

"Thanks. Lets go".

Scott and Virgil headed up to their father's office.

Gordon sighed heavily as he slowly followed them up the path in search of his younger brother.

TBC

_Well thats the next chapter I hope that you like it._

_Please review. _


	9. Chapter Nine

_Disclaimer: I do not own Thunderbirds in any way._**   
**

** CHAPTER NINE – Reality Bites**

Jeff looked up when Scott and Virgil entered his office. "Hey boys. What can I do for you?"

"Dad, can we talk to John for a minute?" Scott asked.

Jeff paused; things had been quiet on the International Rescue front all day. "Sure, I don't see why not". He got up from the chair and stood to one side so his son could sit.

Scott was hesitant to sit down. "Um, do…you think we could talk to him? In private? Please?"

Jeff frowned, "Is there anything wrong?"

"No, no. There's just something we wanted to ask him before he gets home" Virgil forced a smile hoping the answer would satisfy his father.

Jeff nodded and headed out the door with a handful of files.

"Thanks" Scott breathed sitting down in the chair and punching in the dial code on the keyboard.

"Hey, it was the truth" Virgil smiled.

Both turned to the computer screen as their brother's image appeared.

"Thunderbird Five, go ahead" came John's automatic answer.

"Good to see you bro"

John smiled. "Feeling's mutual Scott. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Virgil came into view behind Scott. "Hey John, we need to ask you something important".

"Fire away".

"Has Alan spoken to you recently?" Scott asked.

Both noticed the smile slide off their brother's face. "Why do you ask?"

Scott and Virgil shared a glance before turning back to the screen.

"Alan's been behaving weird recently" Scott replied.

John smiled again. "Well he is a teenager. Teenagers do that sometimes".

Scott could understand John's answer, however, their younger brother's behavior seemed to be more than just basic teen moodiness. "No John, it's something else".

For the second time in their call John's smile disappeared. "Ok I'm listening. What kind of behavior are we talking about?"

"He's too quiet. We can tell something is up with him but he won't talk to any of us. He seems…withdrawn, but 'he says' he's fine". Scott could see John was listening hard to what he was saying.

"He hasn't spoken to any of you?"

"No" Virgil confirmed.

"Not even to you Scott?"

Both John's brothers shook their heads.

Scott continued, "There's something else too. Last night he looked terrible when we went to bed and this morning he came in to the kitchen sporting bruises round his neck".

John's face filled with concern. "Is he ok?"

"He says he is"

"But you don't believe him?" Scott nodded looking down.

"Did he say where he got them?"

"He said he must have done it in his sleep, but they don't look self-inflicted" Virgil answered.

John frowned at his answer, "What kind of bruises?"

Scott looked back at John "…Finger marks".

"No one would do that to him!" John eyes were wide. The very thought was sickening.

"We know that John, that's the mystery" Scott agreed, it was crazy.

Silence fell and John leaned forward on the control consol deep in thought. He had made a promise to Alan, that he would keep their conversation just between them. But this new news was shocking and he wanted to help his brother. Sighing heavily he came to the logical decision.

John slowly looked back up. "Alan did…call me yesterday afternoon"

"He did? What did he say?" Scott asked.

"He said that he was having trouble sleeping. Nightmares"

Virgil glanced at the door before leaning closer to the screen, "How did he seem to you?"

"Well, he looked a bit tired but other than that…He was really agitated about these dreams he's been having though". John frowned "He said he couldn't sleep because of them".

Scott mirrored John's expression "That would explain his appearance. But if he's having trouble sleeping why hasn't he gone to Brains to get something for it".

John sighed, "Because he knew Brains would ask 'why' he couldn't sleep. He didn't want anyone to know". He looked down guiltily, " He only told me because I promised I wouldn't tell anyone".

Scott smiled reassuringly "You did the right thing John".

"Did he tell you what the nightmares were about?" Virgil asked from over Scott's shoulder.

John was silent, seemingly thinking hard about what he was about to say.

"Yeah, uh, he said they were of the day the Hood broke into the Bank of London".

Both momentarily stunned, Scott was the first to recover from the shock of this statement, "But…how can he have nightmares about that, the Hood didn't get away with it".

"I know that, but he said that they were different to what really happened. He said that in his dreams the Hood always wins!"

Scott and Virgil glanced at each other.

"He also told me that the Hood says things to him...things he hadn't said on that day" John inhaled deeply before continuing "He said that the Hood told him that he was going to get his revenge, that there was no escape, and that he was going to kill Alan".

"There only dreams guys, not real life" Virgil commented.

Scott sighed heavily leaning back in the chair "Well, these nightmares are the only explanation for his behavior. I think the safest thing to do is to just let him deal with it on his own. He knows he can come to us if he needs help".

"John, are you sure Alan didn't say anything else was wrong?"

"Sorry Virg, he only mentioned these dreams of his. But they must be bad if they' re getting to him like this".

"It still doesn't explain the bruises Alan's got" Virgil said quietly.

Scott sat deep in thought.

"Ok, this is what we're going to do…We'll keep an eye on him when we can but if we push him to talk he'll just blow up in our faces, so we won't mention it unless it come up"

Scott received nods of agreement from his brothers. "We won't tell dad about Alan's bruises, Alan can't hide them forever. Maybe dad might have more luck in getting the truth out of him"

Again they both nodded.

"Ok then. Thanks for the insight John"

"No problem Scott. I'm glad you called me about it".

"Yeah well, you're cheaper than an agony aunt" Virgil replied smirking.

John laughed at the lighthearted comment "Gee thanks little bro, I'll remember you in my will".

They all chuckled.

"Well, we'll see you in…" Scott glanced at his digital watch "six days".

John grinned "Yeah, who's bringing the little monster up?"

Virgil's expression gave him the answer.

"Hey, he's not that bad" John commented.

"That all depends if you're on the receiving end of one of his pranks" Virgil replied darkly.

John laughed. "Well you never know. Maybe Alan will be interested in doing some shifts in Thunderbird Five".

"If dad agrees I don't see why not. It'll give you both more time to yourselves".

"Scott I like it just fine up here. But I'm sure Gordon wouldn't mind, after all, he does prefer the water to the stars".

Scott and Virgil agreed. Gordon was more of a fish than an astronaut.

"We're probably over reacting about this whole thing with Alan you know".

"I know John. But it's my job to worry about you guys".

"You're the weirdest babysitter I've ever had" Scott laughed at Virgil's comment.

"Hey, watch it Virg, or he might ground you" John said smiling.

"He wouldn't dare".

"Ok, ok that's enough guys" Scott quickly broke up this line of thought before it escalated. "We better go John. Give us a call if Alan talks to you again while you are up there".

"Will do. I'll see you soon guys" John smiled.

"See you real soon bro. Take care up there" Scott returned his brother's smile before cutting the link.

Scott got up slowly from the chair stretching his stiffened muscles as he did so.

"We better tell Gordon what we found out".

"How about food first Scott, its nearly lunch time"

Scott looked at his watch "Dam is that the time?"

"Sure does fly doesn't it" Virgil commented as they headed for the door.

"We'll fill him in after lunch" Scott finished as they made there way back down to the main house.

TBC

_Im sorry for removing the story. I'm still getting used to fanfiction net._

_But, this is a work in progress and new chapters will follow! _

_Please review. _


	10. Chapter Ten

_Discalimer: I do not own Thunderbirds in any way!  
_

**CHAPTER TEN – Darkness on the Horizon**

After they had had lunch Scott and Virgil gave Gordon the details of their conversation with John. Gordon agreed with Scott's plan of action that they should just leave Alan to handle it for now until they knew more and he told them that Alan had gone down to the Thunderbird silos to help Brains after he had stormed out of the kitchen.

As Scott predicted, their father had indeed noticed the bruises on his youngest son's neck at lunch, and had pretty much reacted the same way his other sons had. After the initial shock he had asked where Alan had gotten the bruises. Alan kept to his story about doing it accidentally in his sleep. Of course Jeff didn't believe that for one minute and continued to try and get the truth from Alan.

Again, as Scott predicted, Alan had exploded at his father's persistence and what had started out as concern ended up as a very loud argument between the two. Jeff was stunned at his son's outburst, Alan had never been this angry at him before. So he ordered him to the sick bay so Brains could take a look at the bruises to try and discern where they came from.

Alan had glared at his father and, for the second time that day, stormed out of the living area leaving behind many shocked faces. Scott had seen the worry in his father's features as he watched his son storm out. Jeff asked them if they knew anything about where the bruises had come from, they told him what they knew, which was pretty much nothing. Not even Tin Tin and Fermat knew where he had gotten them.

He tried again later that day to get Alan to let Brains check him over. Again he refused saying that he was fine and that they were all over reacting. After seemingly exhausting all options Jeff decided to leave it be for now. He didn't want to upset Alan further; he needed him and the rest of his sons in top shape to go on rescues, so nothing more was said on the matter.

The next six days seemed to go by in a blur. International Rescue got only one call out during those days, to the North Pole to rescue some researchers who had gotten caught in bad weather conditions.

Alan's behavior continued to be quiet and withdrawn. He spent most of his time with Tin Tin and Fermat helping Brains with the auto-flight system, which they had at last successfully installed into Thunderbird One. The rest of the time Alan was either in the flight simulator or in his room. He was still having trouble sleeping but he hid it well from everyone. Well…almost everyone. Scott had continued to keep an eye on him when he could and could see that nothing had really changed. He knew that his father had also been watching Alan and he could tell that he was also still worried.

The day finally arrived for John to come back down to earth and everyone was looking forward to seeing him again. Virgil and Gordon had set off at five in the morning to have him back on land by breakfast time.

As Thunderbird Three streaked back through the atmosphere after the change over Virgil radioed ahead for permission to land. Jeff granted them permission and moments later Thunderbird Three slowly descended down through the library building into her silo below.

The rest of the family was already sitting down to breakfast when they walked into the living area. Everyone turned to greet them.

"Hi guys! Did you miss me?"

"John, good to see you" Jeff went over and hugged his son as he came over to the kitchen.

Scott copied his father. "Good to have you back bro".

"Well I'm looking forward to doing some hands on rescue work for a change" John smiled at his older brother.

"We've missed you John" Alan said as he joined in the greetings also giving his older brother a hug. John ruffled Alan's hair affectionately as he stepped back. Alan smiled at him before turning back to the kitchen.

Jeff was silently relieved to see his youngest smile again. He hadn't smiled once since the incident six days ago. John watched Alan as he walked over to the table noting that the bruises his brothers had mentioned looked to be fading.

Virgil yawned widely as he sat down at the table, the rest of the house's occupants quickly following suit.

"It's nice to see you again Mr. Tracy" Tin Tin commented as the bacon and eggs were passed round. Her father, sat next to her, nodded in agreement.

"Thanks Tin Tin. It is good to be home, and you do know you can call us by our first names". Tin Tin blushed slightly feeling embarrassed. "Sorry, old habits die hard" she smiled.

"So John, have you ha-h-ha experienced any problems with Th-Thu-Thunderbird Five's systems?"

"No, she's running like a dream Brains. Those repairs we had to do after that missile strike are holding up great".

"That's g-g-g-go wonderful to hear".

The coffee pot followed the bacon and eggs round the table. Virgil poured himself a large mug in an attempt to wake up his sluggish brain.

"Virgil, you look like one of those zombies in that horror movie we watched last week!"

Virgil smiled slightly at Alan's remark. "Gee thanks kiddo. I was up at four this morning remember?"

"I'm surprised Gordon managed to drag you out of bed so early Virg".

"Scott I'm not that bad!"

Scott and Alan looked at each other knowingly, smiles spreading on their faces. It was a well-known fact amongst the brothers that Virgil was a very deep sleeper. Gordon had played many cruel jokes on him because of it. One particularly bad prank Gordon had played a few months ago involved marker pens and glitter sequins. Virgil had woken up and had walked into the kitchen looking like a perfect clone of Ziggy Stardust! Everyone had thought it was hilarious but Gordon had paid for it in the end. Virgil had spent the rest of the day chasing his troublesome younger brother around the villa with rope, swearing vengeance and threatening to tie him to the nose cone of Thunderbird One.

"Virgil don't worry about it. Go hit the sack after breakfast if you feel tired", Jeff cut in.

"Ok dad. But if there's a call out I'm there!"

Jeff laughed.

"Do you have anything planned today John? We're gonna be testing the auto-flight system in Thunderbird One in two hours if you want to help"

"That's something I have to see. Sure Alan".

After finishing up with breakfast Brains, Tin Tin, Fermat and Alan left, heading back down to the silos.

Kyrano went back to the gardens as Onaha cleared the table.

"Thanks Onaha, that was wonderful"

"My pleasure Mr. Tracy. It's going to be chicken salad for lunch".

"Sounds good. I'll see you boys later", with that Jeff picked up his paper and left.

"You spoil us too much you know Onaha" Scott commented smiling.

She leaned in to wipe the table "Someone has to make sure you boys eat well. Lift" At her word Scott, Virgil and John lifted their mugs off the table so she could finish wiping it.

"You are such good boys" She commented before she left for the laundry room.

Once she had gone John turned to his brothers. "Alan seems a lot better from when I last talked to him".

"I think it's because you're back home John" Virgil commented taking a sip of his coffee.

"He does miss you y'know, when you're up there" Scott continued.

John smiled at that. "I know. I'm sure between us we can cheer him up".

Scott got up from the table "Well, I'm going to go down and keep an eye on them".

John smirked "Are you going down there to keep an eye on them or 'your baby'?"

Scott grinned back at them but didn't answer as he left the living area.

Just off the coast of America in the Atlantic Ocean a cargo ship could be seen in the distance. But this ship carried a very dangerous cargo.

"Sir, we are approaching the port of New York" Transom informed her master.

"What is our E.T.A?"

"27 minutes sir"

The Hood allowed himself a small smile. Everything was going according to plan. Being a rich and powerful man had its advantages and the Hood had easily…'persuaded' the captain of the vessel to cooperate. Sadly the captain hadn't lived long enough to see his payment and was dumped overboard half way across the Atlantic with a bullet hole in his skull.

"Sir, I still don't understand. Why go to all this trouble? Why not do what we did last time and invade their base".

The Hood rolled his eyes at the man's stupidity.

"Because, Mullion, the Thunderbirds will have upgraded their defenses by now. We won't get within fifty miles of their base before we are detected"

"But sir…" Mullion paused as he watched his boss's eyes glow red. The fourteen henchmen behind him stepped back slightly in fear.

"Mullion, your ignorance is most tiresome. Why do I want to draw attention to myself when no one as of yet knows of my escape. Why waste such a valuable advantage".

Mullion fell silent.

"The moment the Thunderbirds hear of my escape they will be on guard for an attack. But…thanks to the police and that idiot prison my freedom remains a secret".

The Hood walked across the bridge of the cargo ship to stand at the helm in front of the windows, watching the skies darken outside.

"I will have my revenge on Jeff Tracy and those rotten children of his".

The Hood smiled again as he turned back to face Mullion. "I will tear Jeff 's family apart…from the inside out!" the Hood's laughter echoed through the room.

Mullion smirked "Yes sir".

The Hood surveyed is team. "I have Alan Tracy under my power; he will do exactly what I tell him to do. All we need to do is let the Thunderbirds to come to us, and they will. We will give them a season they can not refuse and once they are where we want them, we will seal their fate".

Mullion nodded, "Sir everything is set. Your men await your command".

The Hood turned back towards the windows as rain started to fall outside from the dark gray sky above. "It will be a fitting end…for such a noble organization and their technology will bring a high price for us. Just make sure you all do your jobs.." the Hood glanced back at his waiting minions "or you will suffer the price of failure!"

The faces of his men paled slightly at the prospect of failure.

The Hood narrowed his eyes turning back to transom "Radio the shipping port to confirm our arrival".

"Yes sir"

The Hood gazed back through the large windows as thunder started to role in from ahead, "…we begin in 24 hours".

TBC

_Well there it is. I'm not going to give anything away cos that will spoil it -)_

_Hope you enjoyed and please review. _


	11. Chapter Eleven

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Thunderbirds in any way._**

**_Hi everyone. It's easter break so I'm back. Sorry for the wait for chapter eleven my coursework is really getting heavy._**

**_But never fear I have not lost interest and am still tapping away on the old keyboard :-)_**

**_ Thanks for all your reviews they are much appreciated and most welcome.  
_ ****  
**

**CHAPTER ELEVEN – Crazy Feeling**

"Son, give me a systems check"

"All systems are g-g-green dad" Fermat replied to his father.

Fermat, Tin Tin, and Brains were all sat at the computer terminals, in Thunderbird Two's silo, monitoring the tests as they went systematically through Thunderbird One's systems to see if the auto-flight program was fully operational.

John had joined Scott in observing the tests. They stood behind Brains and the others on the observation platform watching the proceedings with interest.

Meanwhile Alan sat up in Thunderbird One's cockpit, monitoring her systems internally as they were checked, relying information via radio headset to the others in the silo next door.

Scott brought his hand to his headset " Hey Alan, I don't want to go in there and find chewing gum stuck to the monitors".

Up in Thunderbird One, Alan grinned "Ha, ha. How old do you think I am, five?"

"I'm just giving you a friendly warning".

"Relax big brother. I won't hurt your precious rocket".

John chuckled at the interaction, "Scott you worry too much".

Scott smiled. John always did have a way of reading what he was thinking.

In Thunderbird One Alan continued to monitor the control panels. The auto-flight program was designed to record and translate the readings received from the external sensors on the aircraft. It would then send this data to an external transceiver (pilot) that would then be able to make the appropriate adjustments to the aircraft's course or status.

So far the program was working perfectly.

Alan sighed. 'If I knew the testing was going to be this exciting I would have waited for Scott to arrive so he could do it' he thought sarcastically.

"Ok Alan, we are r-re-rea-r go for main engine test" Brains broke in over the airwaves.

"FAB Brains. Engaging primary fuel pump, all thruster systems are green, go for main engine start". As the main rockets fired into life the floor shuddered through the silos under the immense power. The others watched the computer screens as the flight control program recorded all the data.

Brains smiled broadly looking frantically from screen to screen "Excellent. I-I think we've done it! All data has been recorded… its working better than I expected!"

Fermat looked up at his father who gave him a thumbs up, "Testing completed. Could you r-ra-r call Alan and tell him to shut her down son!"

Fermat grinned and turned back to the computer screen, "Ok we're done, shut her down Alan"

"FAB Fermat. Shutting down all systems now".

"So Brains, does this mean we can install the program into the rest of the Thunderbirds?"

"Indeed it does Tin Tin". They were all relieved that they had finally managed to install the program and even better, the program worked perfectly.

Scott came up to the happy trio "Well done Brains, lets just hope we won't have to use the program any time soon".

"I agree Scott. It is just an emergency s-sy-s precaution"

John moved up to his brother's side. "Congratulations guys. I'd say it's just about time for lunch. Lets go and tell dad the good news" John commented.

Fermat's face lit up, "Great! I'm starving!"

Scott laughed. "Scott to Alan. Hey squirt, we're heading back up to the house for lunch. We'll see you there".

"You got it! Save some for me guys!"

"Sorry Alan, I didn't catch that, too much static".

Alan scowled. "You're a regular comedian Scott"

Smiling, Scott placed the headset back on the table and the group quickly filed out of Thunderbird Two's silo Fermat leading the way.

As Alan finished shutting down Thunderbird One's systems the blue lighting of the cockpit cast eerie shadows on the walls of the cockpit and Alan suddenly felt a shiver run down his spin. Thunderbird One some how no longer felt like a safe place to be.

"This is crazy," he muttered to the empty cabin. As far as Alan was concerned he couldn't be safer. Here he was, sitting in International Rescue's scout and command plane, with his friends and brothers close by. So why did he feel like a bag full of nerves all the time? He knew why…The Hood terrified him. He had been carefully hiding this fear from his family all week, but he couldn't stop thinking about it, how the Hood had attacked him in his own dreams…and managed to cause him physical harm.

Shaking his head at the thought he got up from the left side pilot's chair to leave. Then, he heard it. That voice, the same voice that he had been hearing in his dreams, only this time, he was very much awake.

'Greetings Alan' the Hood's low voice echoed in Alan's head.

Alan whirled around in his seat even though he knew nobody was with him.

'My boy, I need you to do something for me'

"No way" Alan breathed. He could feel the fear starting to well up from his stomach. Scrambling out of the pilot's seat he punched the key lock to open the hatch. Once outside he ran to the silo entrance door as the hatch closed behind him.

'Alan, you can't hide from me! You will do as I ask!'

Alan could hear the menace in the Hood's voice as he keyed in the access code desperate to get away from the voice.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Alan shouted to the empty silo and the door slid open.

As he entered the tunnel he stopped, a look of utter fear and shock upon his face. His breathing quickened and he clutched his hands to his head as agonizing pain suddenly laced through it. "Aaaah". Leaning against the steel wall for support he struggled to focus as the tunnel spun around him and colored spotted appeared in his line of vision. He eventually squeezed his eyes shut against the agony. Time seemed to stand still as he leant against the wall. All he could hear was his own racing heart and ragged breathing. His mind started to darken as he tried to think through the pain. Thoughts, memories, and emotions evaporated in his mind before he could even stop them, until he found himself completely isolated in his own mind. He couldn't think of a thing. No memories, no thoughts, no feelings…no control.

After a few minutes Alan calmed down, his breathing evening out. He Pushed off from the wall and stood up straight. His mind was hazed over and he stared blankly down the tunnel ahead. His face pale and void of all emotion he uttered one terrifying sentence.

"What do you want me to do…master?"

000

"Has anyone seen Alan?"

"Not since the tests dad. He said he was coming though" Scott answered placing his knife and fork back on his now empty plate.

Jeff frowned. It wasn't like Alan to not turn up to a meal.

"Did he tell anyone he was going to be late to lunch?" Jeff asked the whole group sat at the table. Everyone shook their heads in answer.

"Not like him to pass up food"

Jeff sighed, "I agree Virgil. Well, he'll just have to fix his own lunch". Jeff was beginning to get rather tired of his youngest son's attitude.

Everyone had finished with their lunch and one by one left the table to go back to what they were doing.

Onaha picked up a pile of empty plates from the table as she got up. "I will make Alan a sandwich and put it in the fridge for him".

Tin Tin smiled at her mother's caring. Even though the Tracy boys were not related to their family, she treated them as though they were her own children, even Fermat.

Fermat slumped back in his seat, "I wonder where Alan has got to".

Tin Tin turned to look at her friend, "I don't know. Maybe he had some problems in Thunderbird One?"

Scott quickly looked up at the mention of his craft. John, who was sat across from him glanced side ways at Tin Tin.

"I can't imagine what kind of trouble he would have. He has flown her before".

"Virgil, with Alan, anything is possible" Scott answered as he got up from the table. "I'm going to see what's keeping him".

Tin Tin gulped down the last of her orange juice and placed her glass back on the table, "I'll give you a hand"

"Me too!" Tin Tin and Fermat got up from the table.

Scott nodded and they all headed for the silos below the island surface.

When they reached the entrance to the walkway that led straight to Thunderbird One's cockpit, they found no sign of Alan.

"Well, he didn't have any trouble then" Fermat commented out of breath, as he looked at Thunderbird One through the window in the door.

Scott sighed heavily. "He has to be around here somewhere".

"He might be in his room?" Tin Tin supplied.

Scott, being the ever-ready field leader of International Rescue already had a plan of action forming in his mind. "Ok. Fermat, can you check his room and the rest of the house?"

"S-su-sure"

"Tin Tin, if you can search the underground levels for me?" Tin Tin nodded.

"Thanks guys" and with that they each went their separate ways.

Scott wasn't really worried, he just wanted to know why his brother hadn't shown up to lunch. But still something kept nagging at the back of his mind. Something telling him…that he should be worried. But worried about what, Scott didn't know, so he brushed the feeling aside as a figment of his imagination.

Scott took the elevator down to the ground floor as he had decided to search the silos himself. He walked through every silo calling his brother's name. He checked inside Thunderbird Two and even looked inside the firefly, but there was no sign of Alan.

Sighing heavily, he took the elevator back up to the top level, heading back to the main house.

Up in the house Fermat had also struck unlucky in his search for Alan. Going back to the living area he flopped down on the luxurious orange sofa in defeat. Folding his arms, he waited for the others to finish their search.

Meanwhile, Tin Tin had finished searching the training, simulator, and sick bay rooms. The only place left she hadn't looked yet was the laboratory rooms on the second floor.

Opening the door to the main laboratory, she stepped inside. The lights were on, and she couldn't see the back of the room because of the many pieces of equipment that littered it. 'If the lights are on then someone is in here' she thought gazing into the ominous room.

"Hello?" Her voice echoed through the large room as she walked in.

There was no response.

She continued walking across the room, being careful where she stepped so not to knock anything over. The lab seemed more like a well-packed storage room than a laboratory.

"Alan? Are you in here?" Again she was met with only here echo.

A shiver ran down her neck. The lab was creepy and she felt the sudden urge to flee from the room. Resisting that urge she pressed on reaching the back of the lab. She gazed around the sterile room, but she couldn't see anyone. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, 'another one bites the dust'.

Tin Tin hurried back across the room and out the door. As she turned to close it something landed heavily on her shoulder. "Aaaah!" she leapt out of her skin and whirled around with her arms in front of her ready to defend herself.

"Man, you're jumpy today"

"Alan! What do you think you're doing, you scared the hell out of me!" Tin Tin yelled in annoyance as she glared at Alan's smiling face.

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry. I can't help it if it's too easy"

Tin Tin's face softened. "We've been looking for you. You missed lunch"

"You're kidding! I bet no one saved me any". Alan whined, his face a picture of disappointment.

"Don't worry. My mom put a chicken sandwich in the fridge for you. Come on let's get back to the house"

Alan's face lit up again at her words as they headed towards the elevator down the corridor. Once they were in the elevator heading upwards Tin Tin looked back at her friend. "By the way Alan, what were you doing down there?"

Tin Tin watched as Alan's face slowly turned a shade paler, an array of emotions flooding his features. But as soon as the emotions had appeared they were gone again and he smiled at her. It was a few moments before he answered her; "I left my sweater in the training room after my workout yesterday. I went to get it".

"Oh…fair enough" Tin Tin replied quietly looking down. The elevator doors opened and stepping out in unison they made their way down the hallway and into the living area.

"Hey you found him!" Fermat smiled and he jumped off the sofa to greet his friends.

"What's all the fuss about? I was only in the training room"

Scott, who had returned only minutes before they arrived, got up from the kitchen stool he was perched on, "When you didn't show up for lunch we wondered where you were".

Alan strode over to the kitchen and retrieved his sandwich from the fridge. "I got held up that's all."

"Hey Alan, do you want to go for a swim once you've finished? It's hotter than the dessert outside today"

" F-ounds -ike a brirriant p-an Fer-a" Alan mumbled around a mouthful of sandwich.

"Alan, that's rude bro" Scott smirked and raised an eyebrow at his brother's lack of manners.

Swallowing the last of his sandwich he dumped the plate in the sink. "I can't help it, it's my age"

Scott laughed softly as he watched Tin Tin roll her eyes at Alan. Alan and Tin Tin followed Fermat up the curved path to the first floor and the rest of the house to get their swimwear.

Scott walked over to the open glass doors and out onto the patio. The sun was bright and high in the sky. There was a slight breeze that made the palm trees wave, casting dancing shadows on the decking next to the pool. Scott smiled 'just another beautiful day in paradise'. Walking down the steps he sat down in one of the many brightly colored chairs that littered the house and poolside.

He still couldn't shake the worried feeling he felt about his brother, about the whole summer for that matter. He kept getting the strangest sensation like someone was watching them, and that Alan was somehow a part of that feeling. Impossible yes, but the feeling was there. It was continuously distracting him from his thoughts and no mattered what he did it was always there. Scott groaned in frustration rubbing his face with his hands and then pulling a pair of sunglasses from his shirt pocket he rested them on the bridge of his nose. He leaned back and attempted to relax in the glorious sun.

000

After dinner most of the Island's occupants spent the rest of the day outside by the pool trying to cool off in the scorching summer evening. The sun was setting in the distance, casting a rich orange glow across the sky, which was slowly turning a dark blue in the East in the fading light.

Alan, Fermat and Tin Tin splashed happily around in the pool closest to the house and eventually settled on a game of water volleyball, Alan and Fermat on one side, and Tin Tin and Virgil on the other. But, boys being boys, fifteen minutes into the game Alan and Fermat had resorted to simply wrestling each other for the ball. Fermat's swimming had improved greatly over the past year and he gave Alan a good run for his money, but was eventually over powered and dunked under the water by his friend.

Meanwhile Tin Tin and Virgil had moved to the side of the pool. Tin Tin couldn't help but laugh at the mess of water and limbs wrestling for the ball. Virgil was also chuckling at the scene as he clambered out of the pool and settled down on a lounger next to the chair Scott occupied.

John and Jeff sat at a small table ten feet away, a laptop between them, as they discussed the latest reports from Tracy Industries. All the Tracy brothers helped their father with the running of the family business from time to time. But Jeff insisted that they concentrate more on the 'other' family business before helping him in the office.

Up the stairs on the patio, Onaha was deep in discussion with Brains about the turbo oven that had broken down again. Brains had already repaired it twice that week and was starting to wonder what exactly the woman was cooking in it.

Virgil lay back on the lounger watching Scott stare at the setting sun. "Kind of makes you hope that we don't get an emergency doesn't it?"

"Mmm" Scott continued to study the view.

"Brains told me that the tests on the auto-flight system went well".

"Mmm" Scott absently nodded, still not paying attention to his brother.

"They're going to start fitting the system into Thunderbird Two tomorrow".

"Yeah".

Virgil raised an eyebrow at his brother, a smirk spread on his face. "By the way, Tin Tin painted a pink smiley face on the side of Thunderbird One, she said it might make you more popular with the public".

"Uh-huh…what?" Scott finally turned to Virgil.

Virgil folded his arms, "Alright, what's on your mind?"

"What did you say about pink paint and Thunderbird One?"

Virgil threw up his hands in mild frustration. "I was kidding! You weren't paying attention to anything I was saying".

Scott deflated slightly, "Oh, sorry Virg".

"It's ok Scott. What's up with you anyway? You've been in your own little world all afternoon".

Scott took off his sunglasses, playing with them in his hands. "I don't know". He glanced up at the pool before adding, "I've got this uneasy feeling. You know?"

Virgil smiled, "Well, actually, I don't know. I don't see what you're so worried about. It's been a great summer so far. Glorious weather, only a handful of call outs, what can be wrong?"

"That's just it! I don't know. I've had this annoying feeling all day! But I don't know what I'm uneasy about!"

Virgil thought for a minute, closing his eyes in relaxation. "Maybe you're just imagining it, might be because we haven't seen much action this summer".

"Maybe".

Virgil lowered his voice, "Is it something to do with Alan?"

Scott looked back out over the ocean, "Maybe, like I said I don't really know".

"Well he's fine now. It's like he's made a complete turn around".

Scott frowned as he watched a flock of seagulls fly across the horizon, "Yeah…funny that".

Virgil rolled his eyes and shook his head in mock annoyance. "Scott, he's fine! We're fine, you're fine, and nothing is going to happen so will you just chill out".

Scott leaned back further in his chair stifling a yawn, "Yeah, you're probably right Virg".

The sun had now set completely and the external pool lights flickered on as Alan, Tin Tin and Fermat made their way back up the steps to the house. Onaha smiled at them, "There are fresh chocolate chip cookies on the kitchen counter if you want a snack before bedtime".

"Wow, thanks Onaha" Fermat smiled.

"What would we do without you" Alan mirrored Fermat's smile as they both raced inside heading straight for the kitchen.

"Thanks mom", Tin Tin hugged her mother before following the others inside hoping they would save her some.

Jeff chuckled as he strode up the steps, "You really do spoil us all Onaha".

"Your job is to save lives, my job is a reward the gallant heroes".

Jeff laughed as he followed her and Brains into the house.

Virgil yawned widely, "I think its time for me to hit the hay". Getting stiffly up from the lounger he turned towards the steps. He was still suffering from the early morning flight to Thunderbird Five.

John closed and picked up the laptop he and his father had been working on and headed over to Virgil. "Scott, you coming?"

"Yep". Scott pushed himself out of the chair.

"I wonder if there's any cookies left".

"Well, finders keepers!" Scott laughed.

"Not if I get there first!" Virgil shot back grinning.

Neither had noticed that John had run off until he was at the top of the step "YOU'RE BOTH TOO SLOW!"

"Hey! NO FAIR!" Virgil shouted as he raced up the steps in chase of his older brother, Scott hot on his heels.

_TBC..._

_I hope you enjoyed and please feel free to review. _


	12. Chapter Twelve

_Disclaimer: I do not own Thunderbirds in any way._

_Hi guys! Sorry it's been a while since my last update but I've been a bit busy and haven't had the time. God, University is a pain in the ass!  
Anyway, here's the next exciting installment. Enjoy!   
_

**CHAPTER TWELVE – Thunderbirds to the Rescue**

The Tracy house was silent in the early hours of the following morning. It was just coming up to 7 a.m and the sun was up casting its glorious rays through the glass-fronted villa. Onaha was already busy in the kitchen preparing breakfast for the many hungry mouths to feed. Jeff was sat at the dining table reading the morning's paper dropped off in the airmail delivery, when Scott plodded slowly into the kitchen, dressed in blue shorts and a white t-shirt in search of caffeine.

"Good Morning Scott" She smiled at him and handed him a clean mug.

"Morning, thanks Onaha". Heading straight for the coffee machine he poured himself a fresh mug of coffee then went and sat down at the table next to his father, yawning.

"Do you need a hand Onaha?"

"It's alright dear, I'm nearly done" she replied as she placed two plates, piled high with blueberry pancakes on the dining table.

Jeff looked up at his eldest son, "Morning, you're up a little later than usual". Ever since his astronaut days Jeff had always been an early riser and was always out of bed by 5 a.m.

Scott ran a hand through his scruffy slept on hair. "Yeah well, I had trouble sleeping. I think it's the heat".

Jeff nodded in understanding. Although the house was fully air-conditioned it was the hottest summer on record and the air conditioning units were struggling in the heat. "I know what you mean, it is hot this year. Maybe I should get Brains to have a look at the air-conditioning, he might be able to do something".

Scott helped himself to pancakes as they waited for the rest of the inhabitants to surface. Surprisingly, Tin Tin was the next to walk into the living area.

"Morning mom".

"Good morning sweet heart. Did you sleep well?"

Tin Tin went over and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek then sat down at the table. "Yeah, like a log". She poured herself some orange juice then pulled a plate of pancakes towards her. Despite the hot weather Tin Tin never had a problem sleeping.

Jeff smiled and placed the refolded newspaper down on the table. "Well, I hope everyone else is going to get up soon or they'll miss breakfast".

"They better not be too long or it will get cold " Onaha commented and placed a jug of syrup on the table.

After drowning his breakfast in syrup Scott dug into his pancakes full force, as the others also began to eat. Tin Tin hadn't realized how hungry she was and was so focused on her eating she jumped when an alarm suddenly went off through the large villa.

"Mr. Tracy, what is that?" Tin Tin asked slightly alarmed at the loud beeping alarm.

Jeff stood and didn't have time to answer her question before the cause of the alarm became deafeningly apparent. A loud roaring, rumbling sound came from outside and began to vibrate through the glass front of the house. Before any of them had time to process what was happening Thunderbird One slowly rose out from under the pool as it slid back and locked into place. The long silver rocket passed by the glass-fronted villa leaving behind a trail of smoke and the whole house shuddered under the intense force of the ship's thrusters as it soared into the sky.

Scott's eyes widened as he stood, dropping his knife and fork absently back on the table. "What the…hell?"

Momentarily stunned, Jeff and Scott stared through the glass; slack jawed, at the giant rocket tearing off into the morning sun.

Jeff's own cutlery sliding out of his hands and onto the floor before he sped out of the living area at speed commendable for his age and headed straight for the control room. Scott was hot on his heels and Tin Tin followed behind him running up the rounded path.

Reaching his office Jeff quickly activated the command and control center sending the emergency klaxon sounding through the house.

Scott skidded to a halt when he entered the control room and Tin Tin jogged in behind him moments later.

"Dad, who's in Thunderbird One?" Scott panted, desperate to know who had taken his precious 'bird.

"Base to Thunderbird Five. Come in Thunderbird Five"

Gordon's face appeared on the monitor, "Go ahead Base, what's up?"

"Gordon, Thunderbird One has just made an unauthorized launch. Check the personal locators and tell us who's in the pilot seat?"

Gordon's mouth dropped open, "Thunderbird One?"

"GORDON! We don't have time for questions! Who's the pilot!" Jeff bellowed.

Gordon jumped at his father's tone and quickly checked the monitors. Frowning, he turned back to the video screen. "Uh, the locator tracker places…Alan in the pilot seat".

"Alan! Are you sure son?" To say Jeff was shocked was an understatement. Alan knew better than to play around with the Thunderbird craft.

"Yes sir, Alan is at the controls"

"Thanks Gordon. Stay on the line until we can find out more".

"FAB dad".

Almost simultaneously, a very disheveled John, Virgil, Brains and Fermat ran into the control room, coming to a halt in front of the control desk still in their nightclothes.

John looked at his father, "What's the situation dad?"

"Hold on a minute boys, and we'll try and find out". Jeff's voice was stern and gave away no emotion.

John and Virgil looked at each other in confusion while Jeff opened a link with Thunderbird One.

"Base to Thunderbird One. Alan, do you read me?"

There was no response.

"Alan, this is your father, answer me now!"

Again they were met with silence.

"Alan, turn her around and come back to the Island immediately!"

…nothing.

John frowned. "Alan?"

"What's going on dad?" Virgil watched his father, waiting for an explanation.

John looked around the group and suddenly realized something, "Uh, dad? If there's an emergency, why is Alan in Thunderbird One, and Scott's still here with us?"

Jeff frowned and looked down at the gathered group. "Thunderbird One took off a few minutes ago and triggered the unauthorized launch alarm, Alan's at the controls".

"What?" John exclaimed, wide eyed.

Virgil mimicked his father's expression "What the hell does he think he's doing?"

"I don't know. But we better get moving or we'll never catch him", Scott said looking his father in the eyes before heading over to his portrait.

Jeff nodded in agreement. "Right boys, lets go after him. Brains keep in contact with Gordon and make sure he keeps a track on Thunderbird One!"

"FAB Mr. Tracy" Brains sat down in the control chair as the Tracy family stepped into the chutes behind their portraits.

Fermat walked over to the portraits. "Mr. Tracy I want to come. Please can I!"

Jeff hesitated for a minute and looked at him.

"Please Mr. Tracy. Alan's our best friend, we need to know if he is ok" Tin Tin added.

Jeff stared at them then glanced at Brains, who smiled back his consent.

"Ok guys, come on". Jeff stepped back so Fermat and Tin Tin could step into the chute with him. The doors closed and the platforms quickly descended into the silos below.

It only took ten minutes for them to change into their uniforms and prep the Thunderbird for departure. Thunderbird Two launched moments later with a full crew and then some. As normal Jeff sat in the pilot seat, Virgil in the copilot seat and Scott, John, Fermat and Tin Tin all sat in the passenger seats behind. Fermat and Tin Tin also adorned the light gray International Rescue uniforms (with green piping to indicate the Thunderbird they operated from), as they were part of the team now.

Everyone in the cockpit had faces of completely focused concentration. All except Fermat and Tin Tin who wore identical looks of concern. Tin Tin looked around at the silent Tracy's and wondered whether this was their way of dealing with their worry and stress.

"Thunderbird Two to Thunderbird Five. Gordon where is he heading?"

Gordon's face appeared on the monitor on the control desk. "He's heading East for the main land dad. If he keeps his present course he'll hit the coast of California in 8 minutes".

"FAB. Notify us immediately if he changes course".

"Roger that"

Jeff looked stoically ahead trying not to let his emotions show. But, deep down, he had this sinking feeling that something was wrong.

Jeff decided to try and reach his youngest again on the radio.

"Thunderbird One come in"

"Alan. Please respond!"

They had continued to try and raise Alan on the radio ever since they took off, but so far they had received no reply, which only increased their concern more.

Behind the pilot and copilot seats Scott slammed his hand down hard on the armrest. "Dammit!"

John turned to look at him seemingly recognizing his brother's frustration, "Scott it's not you're fault".

"Isn't it?"

John frowned and spoke with sincerity, "Of course not. Alan's old enough to make his own decisions now. I hadn't imagined stealing a Thunderbird being one of them but…"

"I knew something was wrong. Deep down I knew. Something has been wrong for a while now" Scott cut in.

John was quiet for a minute. The silence was almost deafening, the only sounds coming from the engines as they hummed through the ship.

Scott's softly spoken voice finally cut through the silence, "I should have talked to him when I had the chance. I knew something was bothering him, and then there were the bruises. What if they were self inflicted?"

John's gentle features turned to stone "You know Alan would never do anything like that!"

"Are we sure though? After last summer he hasn't been the same".

"That's only because of what happened. That kind of situation would have been stressful for anyone…" John sighed and glanced down at his hands in thought, "…he has changed Scott".

"But, if I had only talked to him! He wouldn't have had to have resorted to going A.W.O.L!"

John studied his brother and although Scott's face was one of frustration, John could see the regret in Scott's gray eyes.

John's face softened, "You can't predict the future bro. We've all been seeing the changes in him. We don't know yet why Alan has taken Thunderbird One, but whatever the reason, we'll be there for him."

Scott sighed and looked down at the deck, "I should have been there for him more".

John smiled faintly and shook his head 'Scott, always the big brother' he thought. "You are…and you will, and he knows it too. If he needed your help he would have come to you, or dad".

Scott looked back at his younger brother and smiled. John, you could say, was the most sensitive of all of them and also had the ability to read his brothers like open books.

"Maybe"

Scott's smile faded and he turned his attention back to the front of the cockpit where their father was still trying to reach Alan via the radio with no success.

Jeff exhaled in frustration, 'what in the world was Alan playing at? If this was some kind of joy ride Alan was going to be in for the scalding of his life when they caught him. But Jeff was finding it hard to believe that Alan would do such a thing. As reckless as Alan could be at some times he was not stupid.

He glanced over his right shoulder, "What's our position Virgil?"

"We are just passing over the California state line".

Jeff looked back at the controls to try and call Alan again when Gordon's voice came over the radio.

"Gordon to Thunderbird Two. He's landed dad! He touched down in Utah a few seconds ago".

Jeff let out a sigh of relief. At least they had a chance of catching up with him now (Thunderbird One being a lot faster than Thunderbird Two).

"Thanks Gordon. What's his exact location?"

"Geographic coordinates are 133-75 degrees West. He appears to have landed in the middle of nowhere, he's miles out from the nearest populated area". Gordon was a little confused by Alan's strange and baron landing zone.

"Good son. Keep an eye on his personal locator signal"

"FAB Thunderbird Two"

Virgil frowned at his father, "Utah? What does Alan want to go to Utah for?"

Jeff continued to look ahead, with renewed determination, "There's only one way to find out". Jeff pushed the accelerator forward and Thunderbird Two roared off for Utah at maximum speed.

_TBC…_

_ Next chapter coming soon!  
_


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN - Into the Storm**

"Thunderbird Five to Thunderbird Two".

"Go ahead Gordon".

"Guys, Alan's locator is moving away from Thunderbird One in a Northerly direction".

Jeff frowned, "Do you know where he's going?"

"Negative dad. There's no civilization for miles".

Jeff glanced over at Virgil who wore an identical frown, "…Ok Gordon. Keep track of him. At maximum speed our E.T.A is seven minutes".

"FAB. The weather over Utah is pretty rough. They've got a front coming in from the South and it looks like its gonna be one hell of a storm".

'Wonderful' Jeff thought dryly. "Thanks for the warning Gordon. Call us if there are any changes with Alan or that storm front".

"Will do. Five out".

Jeff looked out the window ahead. The sky was already clouded over, the dark clouds swirling around slowly as lightning flashed in the distance lighting up the sky ahead. Thunderbird Two shuddered slightly as the wind speed outside picked up.

"Hang on guys, we're gonna be in for a bit of a rough ride", Jeff called to the others behind.

Fermat gripped his seat tightly against the turbulence. Tin Tin looked over at him and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry Fermat it's only a little turbulence".

"Yeah, I'm ok", he breathed quietly, his voice a little higher than normal.

Scott stared out the window at the approaching dark clouds. Rain started to fall as they passed over the state line into Utah. A rumble of thunder could be heard in the distance as rivulets of water cascaded down the windows.

"Into the eye of the storm we go" Scott whispered as a stroke of lightning flashed up in front of them. The feeling of unease growing as the storm came nearer.

Virgil tore his eyes away from the windows and looked back down at the monitors. "Dad E.T.A in four minutes".

"Ok guys. Prepare for landing, I'm bringing her down".

Jeff slowly eased Thunderbird Two down from her cruising height of 50,000 feet. The craft shuddered and shook a little, due to the weather outside, as they descended towards the ground. At 5,000 feet Jeff pulled back on the accelerator and slowed their descent.

"Look at it out there" Virgil exclaimed leaning over to look out the side window. "I can barely see the ground from here".

Thunderbird Two shuddered again as a loud clap of thunder echoed through the sky.

"Coming into land. Virgil watch the wind shear"

"I'm on it" Virgil glued his eyes to his instruments. "Thunderbird One is right below us."

"Roger that. Coming down along side her"

Thunderbird Two slowly descended and Thunderbird One soon came in to view. The giant craft shuddered again as the wind speed pick up again but Jeff quickly steadied her and continued towards the ground. Vertical landing thrusters firing, Thunderbird Two touched down next to Thunderbird One executing a slow but perfect landing despite the horrendous flying conditions.

"Lets get suited up". Unbuckling their safety harnesses Jeff followed the others out of the cockpit and down to the personal equipment room.

Minutes later they climbed down the ladder from a hatch on the lower port side all kitted out with headsets, rain clothes and emergency packs. The storm was now at full strength darkening the daylight sky and rain lashed down on them like sharp needles. The dark clouds lit up like a doorway to heaven with every lightning flash and thunder rolled over the land like waves in the ocean.

Although Alan's locator was moving away from Thunderbird One they wanted to be sure. Scott jogged over to Thunderbird One and checked inside the cockpit. There was no sign of Alan. Scott returned to the rest of the group after locking up the craft.

"He's not in there dad. He didn't take a headset with him either".

'Dammit. What's that boy playing at?' Jeff thought angrily as they closed up Thunderbird Two. Despite his anger he was truly worried about Alan.

"Gordon, do you read me?" Jeff had to shout over the noise of the rain.

"Loud and clear dad"

"We're on the ground. What's Alan's location?"

"He's about 110 meters from your current location. He stopped a few minutes ago and now…he's just staying there", there was confusion in Gordon's voice.

"Roger that Gordon. We'll find him. Keep this channel open understood?"

"Yes sir"

Scott studied the handheld locator tracker, the size and shape of a mobile phone. "I've got him…" he wiped the collecting rain drops off the small screen "…that way". Scott shouted over the din and pointed in the direction his youngest brother had gone.

Jeff moved to Scott's side and looked down at the screen that showed a small flashing yellow dot North of their position. "Ok let's go".

They set off in a group. Jeff and Scott took the lead, Tin Tin and Fermat followed behind them sticking close and John and Virgil brought up the rear. The terrain was rocky and the storm didn't make it easy going.

They reached the edge of the clearing Thunderbird One and Two had landed in and continued on into the underbrush and woodlands. Scott squinted into the distance trying to see through the heavy curtain of rain. The 'path' they were on was littered with stones and large rocks, which were now slippery wet and hard to walk on. Scott kept glancing down at the tracker but Alan hadn't moved.

Fermat slipped on the rocky ground and landed hard on his side, "Uugh!" Tin Tin stopped and looked back.

John knelt down beside him. "You ok Fermat?"

Fermat took John's offered hands and let him pull him up. "Y-yeah. Just bruised."

John smiled and patted Fermat on the back to get him moving back up the path to catch up with the others. Thunder rumbled overhead and a flash of lightning silhouetted the treetops against their path below. Jeff looked at the tracker in Scott's right hand. "How far?"

"He hasn't moved. We're about half way. Another 50 meters to go"

Jeff nodded and glanced back at the rest of the group. They were right behind them but Jeff could only make out their outlines through the rain. Considering the bad weather they had encountered Jeff started to wonder if he had made the right call in letting Tin Tin and Fermat come with them. It wasn't exactly safe terrain and neither had much rescue experience. Then he remembered the events of last summer and he smiled, 'after going through all that and still coming out on top, those kids can survive anything', he hoped.

They reached the top of the path and the ground leveled out. Jeff took Tin Tin's hand and helped pull her up and over a slippery patch of ground.

"How are you two holding up?"

"We're ok Mr. Tracy" Tin Tin replied loudly clutching at the neck of her raincoat.

Fermat brushed some mud off his sleeve, "Yes sir, easy as p-pi-p piece of cake." Jeff ushered them both over to where Virgil and John were standing looking over Scott's shoulders.

Scott looked around at their surroundings and realized that they were pretty deep inside the forest now. The trees were denser and were only dissipated by large rock formations that appeared all over the forest floor. In front of them was a twenty-foot high rock face.

Scott looked back down at the tracker. "He's this way" He started to walk in the direction of the yellow blip on the tracker, Jeff caught up with him and the others followed behind them.

Scott led them down a small path off to the left, which was mostly solid rock that built up on both sides and was very hazardous. It was dangerous and Jeff insisted that Tin Tin go in front of Virgil and Fermat in front of John so they could keep an eye on them. Slowly they picked their way down the narrow gap hanging onto the rock face as they went until they came out onto another open area. It was a small rock platform that cascaded down the hillside some 12 feet away from the rock face.

Scott stopped in the middle of the platform. "This is it". Looking up from the tracker he gazed round the area.

The others came over to where Scott stood and also looked round trying to see Alan. Jeff came to Scott's side, "Are you sure son?"

"Yeah, he's here!" Scott replied slightly exasperated at his father.

Jeff turned to the group, "Ok guys, spread out."

They all spread out and began to search the area each heading to a different location. The storm was still raging and didn't show any signs of dissipating any time soon. Fermat and Tin Tin stayed close to each other and looked around the rock face and the many piles of giant rocks that cluttered the side of the cliff. Virgil and John searched around the edge of the platform and downwards cautiously climbing down the cascading rock.

"Search team to Thunderbird Five. Come in Gordon"

"Go ahead dad"

"Gordon, what's the status on this storm?"

Up in Thunderbird Five Gordon was closely monitoring the weather patterns over North America. "The front is completely over Utah now. It looks set to continue for at least another 2 hours…. Any sign of Alan dad?"

Jeff could hear the concern in Gordon's words. "Not yet, but don't worry son, we'll find him."

"Watch your backs guys"

"We will. Search team out." Jeff left Scott's side and began to search the platform. Meanwhile Scott's eyes scanned the surroundings. The tracker only located their watch locators within a 20-meter radius and there were many places in their current location where Alan could be… or be hiding.

Over by the rock face Tin Tin and Fermat were searching from opposite ends of the cliff and working their way towards each other. Tin Tin looked around every rock; big or small, searching for any sign of her friend and across from her Fermat was doing the same leaving nothing unchecked.

John had looked all around the surrounding area below and was slowly and carefully making his way back up the rocky slope to the platform with Virgil just behind him. He was almost at the top when something caught his eye. Stopping his climb he reached out to the right and picked up the small object caked in mud.

John pulled himself over the edge, stood and started wiping away the mud. As the object was revealed John didn't know whether what he had found was a good thing or a bad thing. "Dad! I've found Alan's watch!"

John handed it over and Jeff studied it in his hands, a frown on his face. The watch had a long crack along the face. "Did you see any sign of him down there?"

"No. There's no sign of him".

The others came over to see what John had found.

Virgil frowned at the metallic item, "Do you think Alan doesn't want us to follow him?"

"This whole thing is just getting weirder and weirder," John added shaking his head.

Jeff looked up from the watch. "I agree, but we need to find your brother".

Scott joined the group. "Is that Alan's watch? Where did you find it?"

"Just down there" John pointed down the rocky slope behind them.

Scott hurried over to the edge and stared out at the surroundings. The rain still limited visibility as he looked closely down the slope. His eyes traveled down and then along the ground beyond.

"Hey look over there! Those look like caves!" Scott shouted back but suddenly noticed that they were all next to him also looking down the slope.

Jeff followed Scott's train of vision and could just make out a mouth of a hole, most likely a cave. "I see it Scott…" Jeff looked around the group "…lets take a look".

**_TBC_**

_Oooooh...its getting murkier and murkier. Apologies if the terrain of Utah isn't quite right but I've never been there._

_Hope this chapter meets with your approval. _

_Reviews are always welcome _


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN – The Dragon's Den**

Slowly but surely they made their way down the slope, cautiously watching their footing as they descended. The slope wasn't too steep but it was slippery. At the bottom the ground leveled out onto the forest floor and they set off in the direction of the caves. The bottom of the slope was not far from the cave mouth and in a matter of minutes they were standing at its entrance.

Jeff narrowed his eyes as he looked into the dark cavern in front of them. There was no sign of life.

"Search team to Thunderbird Five. We found Alan's watch, but no sign of Alan yet, but we've located some nearby caves. We're going to check them out".

"His watch?" Gordon paused. The next words Gordon spoke were quiet, "Dad? I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this"

He could hear his son was worried and decided not to mention that the watch was broken. Jeff sighed, 'you and me both son'. "Stay focused Gordon, we'll find him soon".

"FAB search team. I'll radio base and update them on your progress".

"Roger Gordon. Search team out."

They each removed their emergency packs from their shoulders and fished out torches before pulling them back on. Jeff took the lead and slowly stepped into the cave shining the torch on the ground in front of him. The others followed suit keeping their eyes and ears open. Scott pulled down his hood and shook his head, grateful for the dry environment, the others doing the same.

"Stick together guys" Scott said quietly and followed in his father's footsteps heading into the pitch-black abyss.

The path ahead was wide and unobstructed and they covered ground quickly as they went deeper into the cave. They had only gone about 25 meters into the cave when the path opened out into a large cavern.

Tin Tin gazed round in awe at the giant cavern, her eyes following the beam from her torch. "Wow, look at this place".

"It's huge", Fermat added as they walked further into the large cavern coming to a stop near the center.

The cavern was roughly 35 feet high and 50 feet wide. The ground was flat with small rock formations around the edges of the giant space and the air was cold against their skin. It was almost like being inside a great hall.

Jeff pulled his hood down and gazed round at the cavern. "Scott, Virgil, see if you can find an opening anywhere".

Scott and Virgil nodded and walked off from the group.

Jeff did a slow 360 around the cavern, studying the walls around them before turning back to face the rest of the group. "John. Does this place look strange to you?"

John frowned at the question. Shinning his torch at the walls he copied his father's rotation. "Mmm…" suddenly it dawned on him "…It's a perfect circle". John looked back at his father in amazement.

Jeff nodded.

"Mining maybe?"

Jeff turned his gaze back to the cavern, deep in thought. "Out here?"

John also looked back at the walls. "It could be. Looks like there are heavy mineral deposits out here. Maybe Gordon can find out something".

Jeff agreed. "Search team to Thunderbird Five".

There was no response.

"Search team to Thunderbird Five. Come in Gordon".

Again no response.

Jeff glanced back at John who was watching him. "Thunderbird Five, come in!"

Nothing but silence.

John's frown deepened. Thunderbird Five was equipped with the most advanced transmitters in the world and could easily penetrate through solid rock at any depth. 'There must be interference coming from somewhere' he thought.

"Thunderbird Five, please respond…" Jeff heaved a sigh of frustration. "…there's too much interference!"

John turned his attention away from the cavern and onto the radio waves. Listening closely into his headset, he focused his hearing to try and pick up any trace of a response as he tried to contact the space station. "Thunderbird Five, come in". There was no response, no background noise, no static…nothing.

'I can't hear any interference,' John froze in realization. "Dad the signal's being jammed!"

"What? Are you sure it's not just interference?"

"No dad! The signal's jammed, nothing is getting through!"

Tin Tin and Fermat who had been standing close by stared at John in confusion. Scott and Virgil had also stopped their search and returned to the group.

"John, how can our signal be jammed? We're in a cave," Scott asked unbelievingly and tried to raise Thunderbird Five himself, getting no response. Scott glanced at John in confusion.

John was instantly on edge. Something wasn't right here. Trusting his instincts he swept his torch around the cavern again. "If we've lost total signal, the source of the signal jam must be close by".

"John, are you saying that we're being jammed by another signal?" Scott eyes widened incredulously at the idea.

"Scott, it's the only explanation!"

Virgil frowned at his brother's sudden anxiety. "John, no one else knows we're here!"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that!"

As one, they whirled around in the direction the voice had come from.

_TBC_

_Yay! Thanks everyone for your reviews. I'm sorry its taken so long to upload chapters but I'm having to beat people back with sticks so I can use the computer! Who ever said student life was easy...eh,eh. I've got to catch up on my chapter writing but I'll put on the next chapter straight after this one cos I know you'll be biting your nails. I'll try not to leave it so long next time:-) Thanks again everyone and as always, reviews are much appreciated!_


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN – Into the Fire  
**

The cavern suddenly came to light. Shielding their eyes from the bright glare they struggled to see the owner of the voice.

"It has been a long time Jeff. I don't think you expected to see me again, certainly not so soon anyway".

Jeff squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light and the figure in front of him came into focus. He stared at the man in utter shock. "You!"

The Hood smiled. "Yes…me"

Looking up they could now see the well-camouflaged halogen lights that hung from the roof of the cavern.

Jeff quickly recovered his composure and his shock turned to anger. "What the hell are you doing here!" The moment the words left his mouth he knew it was a stupid question.

The Hood's smile broadened at his adversary's ignorance. "I thought that would be obvious. Come now Jeff, you're a smart man, surely you can see the simplicity of what has transpired here".

Jeff glared at the man and instinctively he stepped in front of his sons and the kids. There was no way in hell he was going to allow this monster to hurt his family again. Family…oh no! Jeff's eyes widened as he realized why they were even there in the first place and panic gripped his heart. 'ALAN!'

"Where is my son!" Jeff advanced towards the Hood, pure rage urging him on.

As he moved towards the Hood, two tunnels on each side of where the Hood was standing opened and men dressed in black, wearing sunglasses, earpieces and holding rifles instantly surrounded them. They had their sights trained on Jeff who immediately stopped his advance.

The Hood's expression turned dark. "Careful Jeff. You don't want to put your family in any more jeopardy than they are already in".

Jeff glared round at the guards for a moment then, reluctantly, slowly moved back.

Scott stepped up next to his father, his face set in stone. "Where is Alan!"

"Ah, Scott Tracy, such brotherly concern. It is commendable".

"Where is our brother you asshole!" Virgil came to stand next to Scott.

The Hood studied them for a minute, his gaze boring into them. "Brothers in arms. My, my how caring…." the Hood narrowed his eyes. "…Tell me Jeff, do you love your children?"

Jeff glared daggers at the man, "You leave them out of this!"

"It is a little too late for that Jeff" the Hood glanced towards the tunnel on his left. Mullion stepped out and came to stand at his side. The Hood whispered something into his lackey's ear they couldn't hear. Mullion nodded and stalked menacingly towards the group.

Circling around Jeff, Scott and Virgil he approached the back of the group. They didn't move as the men surrounding them had them covered. John gently pushed Tin Tin and Fermat behind him and readied himself as Mullion moved up to them. His mind was screaming at him that he was outmatched. The thug was twice his size and he couldn't deny that he was a little intimidated by the giant lackey.

But, John didn't wait for the thug to make his move and launched his fist at the man. Realizing to late that he couldn't beat the giant, Mullion easily caught John's fist in his hand and swiftly swung his own clenched fist into John's stomach. He grunted in pain as Mullion grabbed hold of his opposite upper arm yanking him off his feet, and with the force of a juggernaut threw him to the side.

John landed heavily on his side just in front of his father and brothers. "JOHN!"

Behind them Mullion pulled a struggling Fermat under his arm.

Tin Tin's face turned white as she watched her friend being attacked. "Let him go!" she screamed.

Quickly focusing her mind she stared directly at Mullion in deep concentration her eyes slowly turning golden yellow. Mullion stumbled as he advanced on her, his face screwed up in anger, as he seemed to struggle against an unseen force. His grip on Fermat loosened but he refused to let go.

The Hood glared at his niece, 'brave, but foolish my dear'. Focusing his own mind his eyes turned a deep red.

Tin Tin screamed and immediately lost her focus as she collapsed to her knees. Mullion recovered and grabbed her arm hauling her off the ground; Fermat continued to struggle under his other arm. The Tracy's watched in horror as Tin Tin sagged under Mullion's arm and he carried her and Fermat out the same tunnel he had entered from.

"What did you do to her!" Jeff demanded as Mullion left. Scott and Virgil helped pull John to his feet, hanging onto his arms as he leaned over trying to catch his breath.

"I think my little niece has just found out the hard way that my power greatly exceeds her own" The Hood grinned evilly.

"If you hurt those kids so help me I'll…."

"Don't threaten me. You are in no position to make demands! Guards!" The Hood commanded his minions and they advanced on the Tracy's. Six of the guards turned their weapons on the Tracy brothers, coming up behind them and urging them forward with the barrels of their rifles, while two more came to stand behind Jeff.

"Dad!" Scott looked back at his father as they were pushed towards the left tunnel.

Fear instantly gripped Jeff as he realized that the Hood intended to separate him from his sons and he moved to stop them.

"Stay where you are Jeff!" The Hood glared down at him. The guards behind grabbed his arms to stop him from chasing after his sons.

"Damn you Hood! Leave them alone! I'm the one you want!" Jeff struggled against the guards' hold, panic evident on his face as he watched his sons being physically shoved down the tunnel and out of sight.

The Hood smiled. "Good bye Jeff".

Before Jeff could react one of the guards abruptly brought the base of his rifle down on the back of Jeff's neck. He fell to the floor unconscious.

The Hood laughed softly at the fallen man. "I have what I want. Your family is your weakness".

He looked up at his men, "Take him back to Thunderbird Two's location and leave him by the craft…unharmed!"

"Yes sir" they said in unison and grabbing onto an arm each they pulled Jeff off the ground and dragged him back out the entrance to the cavern where a jeep was waiting for them.

The Hood pulled out an earpiece from inside his sleeve and placed it in his ear. "Transom. Phase one is complete. Dispatch the team to Thunderbird One and begin phase two immediately. I want the ship ready to leave as soon as possible".

"Yes sir" Transom replied over the radio link.

Smiling triumphantly the Hood left the cavern and made his way down the left tunnel.

Up in Thunderbird Five, it had been forty minutes since Gordon had last heard from the search team. Studying the computer screens in front of him a smile spread across his face and he heaved a sigh of relief. The storm was starting to dissipate earlier than predicted.

Moving over to the mic he opened a radio link to inform his father of the good news, "Thunderbird Five to search team. Come in search team".

There was no reply.

"Search team, this is Thunderbird Five. Do you read me dad?"

Again there was no answer.

"Scott, Virgil, John, come in"

There was no answer.

Gordon frowned and glanced over at the locator monitor. His frown deepened as he looked at the screen. "What are they doing?" He muttered to himself.

All the search team's locator signals were functioning normally, but one was in a different location, separate from the rest. His father's locator beacon flashed on the screen next to the coordinates of Thunderbird Two, while the other signals were coming from roughly a mile away North of his father's position.

'It's not like them to separate without radioing in', Gordon returned to the mic. "Dad! Do you read me?"

His father didn't answer.

"Guys, answer me please!"

He waited for a reply, prayed for a reply. None came. Gordon calmed his nerve and thought for a minute. "Ok, get a grip Gordon, there's probably a simple explanation for this. Maybe they found Alan and dad's taken him back to Thunderbird Two…" a worried expression crossed his face "…but why haven't they radioed in".

Spurred on by worry he did the only thing he could think of. "Thunderbird Five to base. Come in Brains".

"Base here. Go a-ahead Gordon"

"Brains, I've lost contact with the search team!" Gordon couldn't keep the worry out of his voice.

"Do you have a fix on their locators Gordon?"

"Yes, but dad's locator signal is coming from Thunderbird Two's location and the others are a mile from him. Could something have gone wrong?"

Brains frowned, "They might have found Alan. You did s-say Alan lost his watch, your father may have t-ta-t escorted Alan back to the landing site".

"Yeah, but none of them are answering!"

Brains was silent for a minute. "Is the radio signal reaching them?" Back on Tracy Island, Brains called up the radio transmitter diagnostic programs on the computer.

"All readouts say the transmitter is operating under normal parameters," Gordon brought up the systems page on his own monitor.

Brains studied the current readings coming from the space station. "You are right Gordon, signal strength from Thunderbird Five tests normal. It must be a p-problem on their end".

"But the other's locator signals are coming from inside those caves. I thought Thunderbird Five's transmitter could penetrate rock".

Brains continued to scan page after page of computer data. "The transmitters can penetrate any rock surface. Like I said. They may be h-having d-dif-di problems with their receivers".

"What do you suggest Brains. I'm kinda worried about them, they're completely cut off and they're in the middle of nowhere". Gordon leaned forward on the edge of the control desk.

"Keep trying to r-raise them on the radio. I'll run some detailed scans of the area, see what I can find out".

"FAB Brains" Gordon cut the link. Taking a quick glance back at the locator monitor he opened another radio channel.

"Thunderbird Five to search team. Come in dad"

"This is Thunderbird Five. Please respond!"

Silence filed the airwaves.

"Scott, come in please!" Gordon paused, 'please…somebody.'

_TBC  
_

_(Gasp!) This story is even starting to get me tense. Yay! 2 for 1... two chapters in one night, am I good or what!  
_

_Thanks for all you reviews. New chapters will come so stay tooned! _


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN - Out of the Darkness**

The guards pushed the Tracy brothers through the dark unlit tunnels, winding left and right and passing entrances to other dark caverns as they went. Moisture clung to the walls and ceiling, dripping onto the group as they were marched through the tunnels.

The guards had each switched on torches that were attached to the sides of their rifles to see the path ahead. Two of the guards led the way while the other four marched behind the brothers urging them onwards. After about fifteen minutes into their march the tunnel changed angles and started going up.

"Scott, any ideas bro?" Virgil murmured under his breath, casting a sidelong glance at his older brother as they trudged up the muddy and claustrophobic passageway.

Scott met his brother's hopeful eyes. Anger boiled in him at the thought that they had walked so easily into the Hood's clutches, again. But worst of all they were separated and had no idea where the kids or their dad was. "I'm working on it Virg, hang tight ok?"

"QUIET", one of the guards behind them growled angrily giving an extra hard shove to the nearest prisoner. John stumbled at the unexpected push and Scott quickly reached out an arm to steady his brother.

Scott stopped and glared daggers at the angry guard who, in return, regarded him with a sneer.

"What's your problem flyboy?"

Scott continued to glare at the man. "I'm looking at him!"

The guard grinned and took a step closer, moving his rifle to one hand he met Scott's glare. "Go on then, give me your best shot". Standing only a few feet apart Scott towered over the other man, who was short, but stocky in build.

"Scott no, it's not going to help our situation". Scott looked round at John who placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"You should listen to your friend, pal. You wouldn't last ten seconds against me!" To enforce his point the guard pushed Scott in the chest, forcing him to stumble back slightly into John.

Recovering quickly Scott stepped back up, but instead of retaliating, Scott just glared at the man and straightened up. "Don't worry pal, I'm not gonna rearrange your face. Your boyfriend would never forgive me!"

"You little shit! I'll murder ya!" The guard roared, instantly seeing red, and lunged at Scott, who was ready for the attack.

"That's enough Mac! The Hood wants them unharmed and that includes no bruises". The lead guard had turned round at the commotion.

The guard known as Mac had halted mid-motion. "Come on Viktor! A few bruises wouldn't hurt, I got my rep to think about".

Viktor, the leader of the group, was roughly the same height as Scott but he was definitely bigger in build and spoke with a slight European accent. The man's very presence was menacing.

"Don't make me inform the Hood of your inability to follow orders!"

Mac paled slightly at this statement. Viktor, fixed him with a chilling glare from behind his sunglasses, then motioned for them to continue moving up the tunnel.

Mac straightened and focused back on their prisoners. "Alright hero, you win for now. Get moving!" He pushed them forward, urging them to walk faster.

They continued on in silence, the Tracy's sharing glances with each other as they tried to fathom where they were being taken. Suddenly they could see light at the top of the tunnel steadily getting closer and closer as they continued on. At the top the tunnel ended and they came out onto a rock platform about the size of two tennis courts and very much like the one at the mouth of the cave where they had first entered. Sitting on the platform were two large military cargo helicopters painted in camouflage colors.

"MOVE!" the guards pushed them forward across the rain soaked rock towards the nearest helicopter. Walking across the platform they were stopped again at the cargo doors of the helicopter. Four of the guards stepped back and brought up their rifles training them on the brothers.

The cargo doors slid open and Mullion jumped down closing the door behind him. "Alright lads, hold out your hands and nobody try anything clever".

Slowly, cautiously, John and Virgil complied and held out their hands. The other two guards came forward and removed their watches. John and Virgil looked at each other in shock. The Hood knew about their locator watches. Once the watches were off the two guards each pulled out a pair of handcuffs from their belts and attached them tightly around Virgil's and John's wrists.

Scott, who had not held out his hands when instructed, glared at the big man with open distain and disgust.

Mullion came up to Scott and glared back, his lip twitching at the prospect of resistance. "Hold out your hands runt!"

"Not until you tell us where Alan is!"

Mullion's scowling face broke into a smile and he laughed. "You'll find out soon enough. Now, hold out your hands, or do you want me to hold them out for you?"

"I would love to see you try asshole!" Scott ground out between clenched teeth. His anger towards the brute intensifying as he remembered how he had manhandled Tin Tin and Fermat.

Mullion smirked and glanced over his shoulder at the helicopter entrance dismissively, then without warning, he lashed out with his fist. Scott underestimated the big man's speed and was caught off guard as Mullion's large fist connected with his jaw. The world span around him and he stumbled into the guard behind him who pushed him forward again. Mullion grabbed his left arm in a crushing grip and with his other hand he ripped the watch from Scott's wrist.

"Cuff him" Mullion commanded. Shoving Scott's watch into his pocket, he grabbed his other arm and bringing Scott's hands together one of the guards locked a set of handcuffs around his wrists.

Scott shook his head trying to steady his rattled head.

"Get them loaded!" Mullion ordered.

The guards handed over the other two watches then raised their weapons towards their captives. Scott glared at the guards then back at Mullion who reached up and opened the cargo door expectantly. Seeing there was no way out of their situation he followed the silent demand and slowly, placing his bound hands onto the metal ledge, climbed up into the cargo hold.

"SCOTT!"

Scott looked up in surprise and a wave of relief washed over him at the sight of Fermat and Tin Tin sitting at the back of the cargo bay.

"Guys, are you ok?" he asked as he came over and knelt down in front of them, checking them for any sign of injury. He noticed that they too had been put in handcuffs.

Behind him, John and Virgil climbed up into the helicopter and the door was slammed shut behind them.

John sighed in relief at seeing them and rushed over to them, Virgil following close behind. "Are you two ok? Are you hurt?"

Tin Tin smiled wearily, "No we're ok. Are you ok?"

"Yeah…" Scott reached up and touched his sore jaw "…all things considered".

"Yeah, that big guy has one whopper of a right hook", John said rubbing his stomach.

"You're telling me".

Virgil knelt down next to Scott. "How's your jaw? You've got a nice bruise coming up"

"I'll survive". Scott stood up and walked over to the cargo door. Pulling hard on the handle it didn't budge. 'Dammit, so much for a fast escape. It was worth a shot' he thought frustrated. All the windows were blacked out so they couldn't see what was outside.

John sat down awkwardly in front of the kids. "Did they take your watches?"

Fermat held up his wrists, "Yeah. I wonder h-how they knew about our w-wa-w locators?"

Scott sat down heavily next to Virgil. "I don't know. But it's clear the Hood wants us alive this time".

"That's what worries me", John said dishearten.

Scott sighed, "We're all worried John. But we need to keep our heads and find out what's going on".

Tin Tin brought her knees up and looped her bound hands over them trying to gain some sort of comfort. "What is he going to do with us?" she said in a quiet voice.

Scott, John and Virgil looked at each other. They understood how Tin Tin felt. The kids had faced the Hood head on before and thankfully survived to tell the tale…but this was different.

Scott grasped her hand. "It will be ok Tin Tin. We're with you guys this time…" he squeezed her hand "…it will be ok".

Tin Tin's hand as like ice and Scott was just a little concerned at how pale she looked. "Tin Tin, are you alright?"

Tin Tin let out a shuddery breath, "Yeah, I-I'm fine. Just a little shaken". She smiled back reassuringly.

"Don't guys, we'll find a way out of this". Virgil added, trying to quell their fears.

Fermat looked over at Tin Tin sadly. "But what about Alan?"

Tin Tin sighed slowly and turned to look at Fermat and she mirrored his sad expression. Closing her eyes she tried to keep her emotions in check as images of her best friend came to her mind. Ever since last summer she had secretly been hoping that that strong friendship they shared could become something more, something special.

Remembering Alan's smiling face, she couldn't stop the single tear that slid down her cheek.

Noticing the tear Scott squeezed her hand. "Hey, come on. No tears, it will be alright. I promise"

Tin Tin looked up at him, her eyes shimmering. "Will it? We don't know where Alan is. All we know is he led us here…into a trap" she said softly as more tears fell.

"Tin Tin, we don't know that".

Fermat frowned, deep in thought. There was something very familiar about all this. He remembered that Alan had told him something last summer about the Hood, something strange, when they were trudging through the jungle on the run from the mad man. At the time Fermat had laughed it off as being part of Alan's wild imagination…but now? It couldn't be a coincidence. But what was it! 'Something to do with…mind control?'

Fermat's mouth dropped open in realization as his memories came flooding back to him. 'The Hood has been controlling Alan! And Alan led us to him! My word…that explains everything! Why didn't I think of it before!'

"Guys! I've figured it out!" Fermat said wide-eyed.

Virgil frowned, "Fermat, figured what out".

"I know h-how the Hood knew we were here, and why Alan led us here!"

John glanced at Virgil in confusion. His brother just shrugged. "Fermat like I said, we don't know Alan…."

"But we do!" Fermat cut him off. "The Hood has the a-ability to control m-minds!"

Scott raised an eyebrow at the statement. "Fermat, are you feeling ok?"

"I know it sounds st-s-str-stra-s crazy but it's true. Alan told me last summer".

"What. You mean when you guys were being chased around the Island by that fruit basket?" Virgil asked slightly miffed.

"Yes!"

"In the debrief Brains said that the Hood made him activate the command and control center, but no one said anything about mind control" Scott continued.

Fermat sighed sadly. "My dad's a scientist. He doesn't believe in things he can't e-explain. Neither do I, but this can't be a coincidence".

Tin Tin removed her hands from Scott's and wiped her eyes on her shirtsleeves slowly bringing her emotions back under control. "It's true Scott".

Scott stared at her. "You can't be serious".

Tin Tin sighed and looked down at her hands. "I wish it wasn't true, but it is. My un, uh, my u-uncle does possess the power to control peoples minds".

The Tracy brother's stared at them in shock.

"Are you saying that the Hood is controlling Alan?"

Fermat was silent for a moment. He knew it was hard for the brothers to take in, but they had to know the cold hard facts. "Yes, that i-is what I'm saying".

Scott frowned, letting this new information sink in. 'Oh God. I knew something was wrong with Alan…but the Hood controlling him? That's just crazy!'

John looked round at his brothers. "It would explain Alan's weird behavior", he said almost reluctantly.

Virgil was just dumb struck. "It can't be…we would have noticed!"

John closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "We did notice. But it wasn't what we thought it was".

Virgil frowned at the statement for a second, then his eyes widened, "no…his behavior?"

"That means that the Hood has been controlling him all this time and we didn't even know". Scott's heart sank into his stomach at the idea and fresh anger flared in him.

"We don't know how long the Hood has been controlling him for. It could be months or it could just be days, or even hours we just don't know", Fermat replied.

John's face turned cold. "That son of a bitch. He used our own brother to catch us".

"If he hurts Alan I'll kill him!"

"Wait in line Virg, wait in line" Scott said darkly.

Tin Tin frowned. "What I don't understand though is how the Hood did it".

Scott frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Well, how did the Hood manage to control Alan in the first place? We're on an Island, and the Hood's powerful, but he's not that powerful".

Fermat bit his lip in thought. "I don't know. Maybe he had help".

"That's comforting to know, that there are more people out there like him" Virgil replied trying to get comfortable on the hard metal floor.

Tin Tin swallowed. Last summer, she had persuaded Fermat and Alan not to say anything about her own special abilities. Her powers were not something she was proud of and to her relief Jeff had not asked about what happened in the Bank of London. It seemed that he didn't notice her intervention in the showdown between the Hood and Alan and for that she was grateful.

Fermat looked at her and could read what she was thinking. "Maybe…. it's, uh, not another person who's helping him, but he might have help from something else".

Tin Tin cleared her throat desperate to get off the current subject she had inadvertently put them on. "I doesn't matter now. What matters is how do we get out of this".

"I agree. Scott, we need to come up with a plan" John replied looking round the group.

Scott glanced at his younger brothers. "We will, but we need to find out what the Hood wants with us, and where Alan and dad are before we can come up with a successful escape plan".

Virgil sighed heavily. "I have a feeling that question will get answered all to soon".

They were silent for a minute, each trying to come to terms with the severity of their situation.

John finally broke the silence. "I hope dad's ok"

Tin Tin's eyes widened. "Mr. Tracy. Didn't they bring him with you?"

John sighed, "No. They took us through the tunnel after you and dad was left in the cavern. That's the last we saw of him".

"Oh dear…" tears started to form in Tin Tin's eyes again "…I hope Mr. Tracy is ok".

"Mr. Tracy is a smart and s-strong man. He'll be fine Tin Tin", Fermat said reassuringly, struggling to hide his own worry.

Scott glanced over his shoulder towards the locked cargo door. He knew he needed to be strong for all of them. Looking back to the others, his gray eyes expressed his unease to his brothers without need for words. "I hope so Fermat, I hope so".

Outside, the mood was tense as men in black uniforms ran around the rock platforms loading equipment into the other chopper. Mullion was directing the proceedings.

"You two, get into the front compartment and guard our 'guests'. The rest of you get to the other chopper". The two chosen guards nodded and climbed into the front compartment of the helicopter just behind the pilot and copilot seats. The others slung their rifles over their shoulders and jogged off to the other waiting helicopter.

At that moment the Hood emerged from the tunnel and walked casually over.

Mullion turned to greet his boss. "Sir, all the prisoners are loaded and we are ready to go".

The Hood smiled. "Excellent Mullion, excellent. Did you do what I asked?"

Mullion reached into his pocket and pulled out Scott's watch, then along with the other watches he had collected, he handed them to the Hood.

"Ahh, wonderful…"the Hood placed all the watches, five in total, into the right hand pocket of his red robes "…is everything set?"

Mullion nodded. "Yes sir. Everything is loaded, Transom is already aboard, and both helicopters are prepped for take off".

"And our 'other' guest?"

"Is already onboard the other chopper. I have some men guarding him"

"Oh, that is hardly necessary Mullion. Young Alan is under my control, he is of no threat"

Mullion frowned at the idea of leaving the boy unguarded under any circumstances. "Yes sir", he said reluctantly.

"Good. Then lets get phase two underway". Mullion opened the back passenger door for his boss and the Hood climbed in. Mullion climbed in after him and closed the door.

A few minutes later both helicopters lifted off from the platform. Flying off into the distance as the sun slowly emerged from the breaking storm.

_TBC_

_Sorry that this chapter isn't more action packed but there's more exciting stuff on the way. _

_Please feel free to review and stay tuned for the next chapter.X _


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